Gemini
by sassygiacometti
Summary: Serena and Dmitri are spun back into skating after 5 years hiatus, and have 18 months to solve a family issue. On their own, the twin siblings set out to redeem themselves after their long break. Pairings: Jean Jacques Leroy x OC; Christophe Giacometti x OC; Emil Nekola x Michele Crispino; Mila x Sala; Viktor x Yuuri; Yuri P. x Otabek Altin
1. Chapter 1

_"_ _5 years to the date. I won't let this continue to take control of me. I'll stop it. I'll get over it. I'll learn to live without fear anymore._

 _Well.. at least when I feel like it."_

Serena shut her diary and chucked it onto the floor. "Writing's not going to do anything.." She exhaled softly as she turned over onto her stomach. "October 1st already. Maybe they'll have some skating highlights.." She grabbed a small remote and flipped her TV on. "Drama.. Cooking.. Something that has to do with tv talk show hosts.. Ah! Finally."

 _"_ _So, what can we expect from this year's men's skating? Any new faces?"_

 _"_ _As far was we are concerned, there will be no newer competitors in the men's division, however, the women's division is mostly made up of newer competitors except for two, you would know them as the Russian beauty and the Italian queen of the ice!"_

"Whoa, no way!" Serena shot up and ran out into the hallway. "Dmitri! Channel 5! Hurry!"

"I know, I know. I'm watching it. Jeez, you'd think we were twins or something." Dmitri walked to his door and propped himself against the frame. "I thought you'd be more surprised to know that Yuri Katsuki is going to compete another year."

"Ah! So Viktor's going to be his coach, yeah?!"

"Duh. They're married. I don't think Viktor would let anyone else coach his husband. You're missing out on hearing Otabek speak-"

"What?!" Serena raced back into her room and turned her TV up. "Oh my god! He's so gorgeous!" She screeched into her pillow.

"Heh, you really like him, huh?"

"Duh. Do you not see the many posters I have of him and Yuri on my wall?"

"I see them." Dmitri sat down next to Serena and stared at her. "You know.. it's October 1st."

"Yeah? And?"

"Just wondering if you were ready to move on and pick back up."

"It was a thought. Ohhh shh! There's breaking news? Whoa, what happened?"

 _"_ _Switzerland's sweetheart seems to be retiring at the young age of 27. The decision came to him after the death of his coach of 23 years on Monday afternoon. Christophe Giacometti talked to our reporters briefly after a 3 days hiatus."_

 _"_ _I'm crushed. I can't even begin to tell you how empty I feel."_

 _"_ _Do you have any motivation left, Christophe?"_

 _"_ _I don't know. It doesn't feel like it."_

 _"_ _Will you continue to skate?"_

 _"_ _I don't know right now."_

 _"_ _Will you move back to Switzerland?"_

 _"_ _Please, no more questions.."_

"Wow. That's rough. 23 years?"

Serena frowned and looked over at her night stand. "Well our coach was mom.. We can't say much since she's still alive."

"True. So, can we talk about something?"

"I guess. What are we talking about, again?" Serena glued her eyes to the TV.

"Are you ever going to get back into skating? You used to love to skate so much, and you were really good at it."

"We were both good at it, Dmitri. If you want to skate again, you can pick it back up. I'm not stopping you."

"No. I promised you that I wouldn't skate unless you were skating, too. We started together, and we promised that we would follow each other, no matter what."

"I know. I've just been focused on the future. What's going to happen when we both have to move out and split up?"

"Split up?"

"You and I have always been together, Dmitri. We're twins. That's what twins do. I mean, you've seen how Mickey and Sara act around each other."

"Yeah, but we aren't like that. We're close, but not like that."

"Yeah, you're a little bit more protective over me."

"And I have every right to be. Just think about it, okay? I think you and I could make something great out of skating. We could win gold and travel the world as the skating twins."

"But that only goes so far. It's only cute when kids do it. We're not kids anymore. We are expected to grow up, get married and raise families."

"Gross. I haven't even thought about that yet."

"Me either. But you know it's going to come up soon."

"Alright. Just think about it, okay? You and I practice quite a bit, and I just hate to see your talent go to waste." Dmitri stood up and walked over to the door frame. "I'm gonna go grab something to drink. Want something?"

"I'm okay. Thanks." Serena stared back at the TV. Her pupils dilated and she buried her face into her pillow. "AHH! IT'S JEAN JACQUES!"

"Heh, he just broke up with his fiancé.. just days before their wedding."

"Whoa, what?! Why didn't you say something? You know I like dirt like that."

"Chill. I just found out today. I follow him on Instagram."

"You too? Everyone has one of those things."

"Yeah well, we can set one up for you when I get back upstairs."

"No thanks." She looked back towards the TV and could feel her heart race. "Why are all of the good looking guys so far away? And why do I have to be surrounded by an overprotective brother.." She turned the TV off and stood up from her bed. As she turned towards her full-length mirror, she began to examine herself. "Oh. Yeah. It's because I inherited good looks."

"Yo. Mom and dad are about to leave for the weekend and they want to talk to us. I'm supposed to come up here and retrieve your or something like that. Also, we're leaving as soon as they do to meet up with Mickey and Sara." Dmitri leaned against the door frame. "You look fine, quit worrying so much about your appearance."

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Dmitri smirked. "Emil's coming this time. He says he can't wait to see you. How long has it been for you two?"

"Ah! He is? Good! It's been almost 2 years. He hasn't been able to travel the past couple of years due to training. Oh, do you know if it's cold outside?"

"Uh, yeah. And it will be for the next 3 months. We're 45 minutes from the border of Switzerland. It's always cold."

"Ah, right. I've been inside for the past couple of days, I just-"

"Forgot what it's like to be a part of the outside world? It's awesome. By the way, you and I are throwing a party tonight."

"Dmitri.."

"Whaaat? Our friends are coming in, and I figured that we could have the band over and just celebrate a little. Come on, you're my baby sister, I want to raise you right."

"Raise me right?" Serena scoffed and threw on a black knitted sweater and buttoned the extra-large purple buttons on the front. "You're 5 minutes older than me. Besides, if anyone is the baby, it's you." She stuck her tongue out and then began to laugh. "You make stupid decisions."

"And so do you. Remember 5 years ago?"

Serena grabbed Dmitri's wrist and squeezed tight. "We don't talk about that. You know better." Her attitude went south as she began to twist her hand.

"A-Ah! Okay okay! Jeez.. You can dish it, but you can't take it?"

"There's a difference between playfully insulting someone and bringing up a very bad moment of my life. And if I'm not mistaken, it fucked you over, too."

"Yeah. Okay. Drop it. Come on, mom and dad are probably getting pissed." Dmitri laced his fingers with Serena's and tugged her down the hall and downstairs to the family dining room.

"Ai, you two! We are going to be late for our flight!" Their mother pulled out chairs for them both as their father sat up straight in his chair.

"What she said. Come on, sit!"

Dmitri and Serena took their seats. They both looked at each other and then back at their parents.

"So, as you both know, we're getting older! And that means you both are, too. You have both been a huge blessing in our lives, and we have enjoyed watching you grow throughout the years."

"Thanks.." Serena said quietly.

"Go on…"

"Jesus, Dmitri. If you were any more like me, I would disappear from this earth. Your mother and I are going to retire."

"Wow! Way to go, you two! That means we can all be around more as a family!"

"Dmitri, sweetheart, what your father is trying to say is-"

"We're finally going to renovate the restaurant?! Yes! You both know how long I have been wanting to see it get a make-over-"

"Damn it, Dmitri! It's none of that."

"Huh? Then what could it be?" Serena blinked and sat up from her slouched positon.

"Your father and I are going to retire and move to France! We just signed our last 18 month lease for the restaurant, and once it's up, we're out of here!"

"F-France?! No, we can't move to France! We have a life here." Serena's voice cracked as she found the strength to speak.

"Who said you two were coming with us? You both are 23 years old. It's time to stop living with us and learn to live on your own."

"But, this is our home! We've grown up here our whole lives! The restaurant has been in our family for more than 3 generations!"

"Serena sweetheart, we know. But we're both getting older and it's hard to maintain and run-"

"What if Dmitri and I take over?"

"Uh, No." Dmitri chuckled and shook his head. "You honestly think 23 year old twins can take over a restaurant and make it successful again? You're jumping into things before you think about things."

"You shut up! Our restaurant IS successful!"

"Yeah, that's why people don't travel here anymore."

"Because traveling is expensive! If we renovate and make it better-"

"Come on you two, stop fighting. Your mother and I have put our heart and soul into this place, but when you get older, you lose passion."

"What if I take over? By myself. I'll do it."

"Wow, that was a stupid thing to suggest. Come on, you went to school for 4 years and for what?"

"Did you notice that I wasn't happy when I was in school?" Serena glared over at Dmitri. He shrugged it off.

"Fine. You win that round."

"You two, that's enough!" Their father slammed his hands down on the table and everyone became still.

"Serena, darling, you can't possibly run this place by yourself! Even with two people, it's very difficult!"

"I can do it."

"With what money? We want a lot for this place." Her father shook his head and sighed. "Your mother's right. You can't take this place by yourself."

"Watch me."

"Oh? Okay then. With what money will you pay for the restaurant? I admire your determination, kiddo, but you're my daughter. Who do you think you get it from? Your mother and I have to go, we can't waste any more time."

"Wait!" Serena paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "I'll skate again. And I'll win gold in each competition I skate at. I'll win big bucks, just like Dmitri and I did when we were kids. That's how we paid for college."

"Huh?! Serena, when I talked to you earlier about picking back up on skating, I didn't mean in a situation like this! Come on, focus and think about what you're getting yourself into." Dmitri took her hand and Serena snapped it back.

"You were the one who told me to stick with one goal at a time. Well, this is my goal. And you're going to skate with me."

"Ohhh no. You're not getting me into this. I wanted to skate for a profession, not to earn money for something that isn't of use to us."

"You are both grown adults! And who's going to coach you both? Do you remember that I haven't coached you two in almost 10 years? And your Uncle isn't well enough to coach you again. He's facing the fact that he might have to sell the ice rink-"

"Not that, too! Jesus, are you two trying to ruin our lives?!" Serena slammed her palms on the table top and stood up from her chair.

"Young lady, you need to relax." Her father's voice was stern, but wasn't raised.

"Y-Yes daddy. Sorry." Serena sat down and sighed. "At least let me try.."

"You haven't competed in 5 years, sweetheart. What makes you think that you can just get back out there and do it?"

"Because Dmitri and I still practice. And with his help-"

"Uh, Excuse me? You DO realize that both of us are in a successful band? No one can replace your singing and my guitar skills."

"This wasn't supposed to be a long discussion. We will talk about this more when we return. We'll be back by Tuesday night, and you two better not destroy the place while we are gone. The restaurant is closed until we return, so don't even worry about that stress. Just enjoy being young for a chance, alright? This year will pass before your eyes." Their father stood up from the table and slipped his winter coat on.

"Please, daddy. Let me prove myself."

"Alright, fine. You have 18 months. Make me proud, or something." He slipped his scarf on and took their mother's hand. "Come on, sweetheart. We're going to miss our flight."

"Right, right. You two be safe! We love you!" Their mother looked back at both of them.

"Yeah, love you too.." Dmitri held the door open for them as they both ran out. He closed the door behind them, locked it and looked back at Serena. "Just what in the hell are you thinking?"

"Dmitri, we have to try-"

"We? No no, this is YOUR project."

"Come on! If we both enter, we have twice the chance of winning! Plus, men make more than women do. And, you're amazing at it! You used to win gold all the time in the junior's division!"

"What about you? You swore that you'd never skate after what happened a while ago."

"Yeah, well.. this restaurant is important to me. It's a part of our family. If you don't want to skate.. I'll do it on my own."

"Who will coach you?"

"I don't know. I'll find someone. They always have retired skaters coach others. Well, ever since Viktor decided to coach Yuri Katsuki. Everyone wants to have a piece of that life."

"If you say so." He scoffed and turned to walk up the staircase. "I guess I have no choice. I can't let my baby sister do this alone. What kind of brother would I be?"

"An awful one." Serena stuck her tongue out as Dmitri ran upstairs.

"We can talk about this more later.. but let's take mom and dad's advice and live for once. Get ready. They should be here within the next 30 minutes."

"I'm ready. The world's waiting on you."

The doorbell rang, and both of them looked at each other. "I'll get it!" They both said in unison as they raced back down the stairs and to the front door. Dmitri opened the door, and Mickey walked in.

"Hey you two! So glad to see you! Sorry to barge in so quickly. it's freezing out there!"

"Hey, no problem at all! So glad you all could make it. Hey! Emil! Wow.. you're taller now!"

"Haha, yeah. That's what 2 years did to me." Emil walked in and looked at Serena. "Hey! Come here!" Emil embraced Serena in a tight hug and pulled away.

"Ah! Dmitri's right! You're so much taller than me now!"

"It's been too long. How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing a lot better. Well, at least I feel a lot better."

"That's great. I'm glad to hear it." He grinned down at Serena and rubbed the back of his neck. "You've.. changed a little from the last time I saw you-"

"Alright alright, don't get all creepy with her." Mickey tugged him back from his hood.

"Easy! She knows I mean it as a friendly compliment."

"It better be a friendly compliment. Don't forget, she's my little sister."

"Easy you three. We're on holiday!" Sara peeked behind Mickey's shoulder and grinned at Serena. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Sara! I saw you on TV tonight!" Serena wrapped her arms around her.

"Haha, yeah, I don't think they caught my good side." She stuck her tongue out. "Your house is still super cute!"

"Yeah, well.. my parents want to sell it."

"Oh no! That's terrible!"

"I'll talk to you more about it, later.."

"Are you ladies coming with us? We're going to go by the store and pick up some alcohol for the party."

"Are we seriously going to do this?" Serena sighed and shook her head. "We can't have the house destroyed!"

"It won't, relax. It's just us 5, plus Anthony and Vincent. We're going to play a few songs because our friends want to hear us play."

"He's telling the truth. We can't throw a crazy party or Emil might end up begging people to play strip poker."

"H-Hey! I'm a master at Poker, I cannot lose!"

"Sure thing, bud." Mickey placed his hand on Emil's shoulder and smirked. "You're in the presence of great friends with Instagram. If you get too crazy, everyone might find out."

"You wouldn't! Mickey, how rude!"

"Haha, then don't do anything crazy! Right, Serena?" Sara nudged her and wrapped her arm around Serena's shoulders.

"I wouldn't know. I don't have an Instagram."

"Bless you, Serena. You're such an amazing friend."

"Thank you, Emil." She grinned and took Sara's hand. "Alright, well we're going to get ready for this so-called party."

"I thought you were already ready?" Dmitri grabbed his coat and slipped it on.

"I was before I found out we were drinking. I need to look a little bit better than I do now."

"I think that's girl talk for 'We're going to talk about serious stuff'. Come on, we should get going and get back before people start to show up." Dmitri led Mickey and Emil out the door, and Serena tugged Sara upstairs to her bedroom.

"Wow, you've changed your room a bit since I last saw it."

"A year ago." Serena laughed as she sat down on her bed. "So, I know we catch up all the time through Skype.. but you must fill me in on everything! How does it feel to skate with a bunch of new competition?"

"It's fun. Everyone skates beautifully, but some of the girls are catty. I think everyone is hungry for gold that they lost the meaning of what skating really is."

"That's awful. But, at least you enjoy yourself."

"I do."

"So, how about you and Mickey? Has he stopped being so clingy?"

"Hah! Mickey?! Never. He did for awhile, after I talked to him. I understand that it's hard for someone to part from their twin, especially since they have never been apart. But, if I wasn't mistaken, you deal with the same thing?"

"Yeah. Except, ours isn't as extreme."

"Didn't seem like it downstairs when Emil was gushing over you."

"Okay. He's still overly protective."

"Well, I would be too after what happened.. you know.."

"I wish people would stop bringing it up. I'm fine. It's no big deal."

"If you say so. It changed you and Dmitri both. But, I trust you." Sara took Serena's hands and smiled at her. "So, enough about that, have you met any guys?"

"What did we just talk about? Do you really think Dmitri would let me talk to anyone? You should know better than anyone else. Our brothers are pretty much the same."

"I snuck off with Seung while Emil and Mickey were in the middle of a discussion."

"No way! So, what did you do…?"

"We kissed. A lot. But that's it."

"Ohhh If Mickey were to ever find out-"

"I know! He'd kill me. You can't say anything to anyone. Not even your brother."

"I swear."

"Great! So, let's go back to you. You need to hook up with someone."

"Yeaaah. Dmitri will totally accept me dating."

"Honestly, I'm surprised that you haven't gone behind Dmitri's back. You're stunning! Your platinum blonde hair and those peridot eyes."

"That's the French in me. Dmitri got lucky, too."

"Still. Point is, you need to at some point! Don't you want to get married and have your own family?"

"Of course. But right now, my mind is on other things."

"Having a boyfriend will take away all of your stress."

"No need. I have my own goal in mind."

"Goal..? You still haven't gotten out of that habit yet, have you? What's got your mind occupied now, huh?"

"I'm going to compete again and win gold at each competition."

"Huh?! Serena, that's great! What encouraged you?"

"I told you that mom and dad are selling the restaurant. Well, they told me I have 18 months until the lease is up to earn money to buy the restaurant and house from them."

"You go girl! But, why do you want to make it your burden? Don't you want to make skating your life again?"

"It's not going to consume me any longer. I'll enjoy it, but the only thing on my mind is to win enough money to keep this place."

"Why is it so important to you?"

"This is my home, Sara. Dmitri and I were raised here, and we were always involved in the family restaurant some way or another. It's been in our family for 3 generations, and it's upsetting enough to think that it could get into the wrong hands. It's been my escape for the past 5 years."

"But, what if you want to keep skating?"

"I'll make that decision later on. Why keep skating if I don't accomplish my main goal?"

"Alright. Just don't lose your love of skating because of stress."

"I love skating. I miss it. I can't believe I'm coming back, to be honest. But, if I don't do something, Dmitri and I could lose everything. We aren't prepared to leave. He told me that he's going to help me. Together, we have a better chance of winning. Just don't say anything to anyone yet, okay? This all happened 30 minutes before you all showed up."

"Serena, that's very sweet of you. No matter what, you will always have our support."

"That means everything to me. Thanks."

"Anytime. I haven't heard

So, does your uncle still have the rink?"

"He's close to selling it."

"No way!"

"Tell me about it." Serena sighed. "I can't afford both places or I would buy them both. I don't even know if I can buy the restaurant off of them. I don't even know if I can run the restaurant and keep it open! What did I get myself into?!" She grabbed a pillow and groaned into it. "I'm in trouble."

"Relax. It will all work out. Oh, speaking of, the guys just got back! I can hear them downstairs."

"Perfect. Something to take my mind off my bad decisions."

"You can't drink yet, you haven't even sang for us!"

"I can still sing after one drink. I'm not weak.." Serena blushed and looked away. "I'm not like I was 5 years ago. I can handle my liquor."

"Good girl." Sara took her hand and led her downstairs. "I wonder what they got?"

"Knowing Emil, Probably Jägermeister and Vodka." Serena stuck her tongue out and shook her head.

"I thought your drink of choice was Vodka?"

"It is. But Jägermeister, not so much."

"Get down here, you two! It's time to take shots."

"Chill, Dmitri. We're right here. Do you think it's such a good idea to take straight shots of liquor before we perform?"

"Sure, why not? Relaaaaax.." Dmitri threw his head back and let the liquor slide down his throat. "Live a little. I give you permission."

"Oh ha ha. Give me a shot of vodka."

"Gotcha right here! Shots for the ladies.." Emil slid two shot glasses full of vodka towards Sara and Serena.

"And who said you could pour my little sister alcohol?" Mickey sneered at Emil as he began to pour three shots of Jägermeister.

"Relax, Mickey.. I'm a big girl. I can handle my liquor."

"Yeah, Mickey! Relax! Here, a shot for you, another shot for Dmitri and a shot for me!"

"I can already tell this isn't going to end well." Dmitri sighed and took another shot. "Alright, that's enough for me. I need to be able to play. Speaking of, they should be here any minute."

"Oh? You're actually going to play?" Mickey smirked and nudged Dmitri in the arm.

"Yeah, we're going to play. You all get to hear us, finally."

"Perfect! So, what are you all going to play?" Sara took her shot and slammed her shot glass on the table top.

"We're going to just wing it."

"Wait, what?! Dmitri, you didn't pick out any songs?! You were the one who decided to throw this party, how could you not think of a song list!"

"Come on, we'll think of something. Come upstairs with me while I grab my guitar. We can decide some songs then. Besides, you and I need to talk."

"Great. What did I do this time?"

"It's what you haven't done. If you're going to be serious about what we talked about earlier, then you need to think about this really hard, alright?"

"Dmitri. I know." Serena followed him up the steps and to his room.

"I'll help you."

"I know you will. You wouldn't let me do this by myself."

"It's because you can't do this by yourself." He smirked and grabbed his guitar case. "Come on. The party is waiting for us."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As soon as Dmitri and Serena made their way downstairs with their equipment, the doorbell rang. Dmitri opened the door, and in walked two taller guys. One was skinny and had shoulder length raven hair. The other was muscular, blonde hair and looked like he came out of a warrior comic.

"Hey you two. Thanks for coming by!"

"Anytime, Dmitri. Thanks for having us." The muscular male looked at Serena and scooped her into a hug. "You look great, Serena! So, you said we would meet your friends.."

"Mmhmm! First, thank you for stopping by, Vincent. And you too, Anthony!" Serena grinned and waved to the male with the raven hair. "So, these are our friends from skating! This is Emil, Mickey and his twin sister Sala!"

"Nice to meet you all. I hope you're excited to hear us play."

"We are. Dmitri always talks to us about practices and we have always wanted to hear him play. And hear Serena sing, too." Mickey smiled and shook Anthony's hand.

"Well, speaking of, we're about to play for you all! Let's get set up and we'll start. Oh, we still need to grab our gear. Give us just a second!" The two men rushed outside and came back moments later with pieces from a drum set and then a guitar case. Everyone piled into the den and made themselves at home while waiting for the band to assemble.

"So, Dmitri, you never did text Tony or I. What exactly are we playing tonight?" Vincent began to set his drums up in the corner of the den.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry dude. Serena and I had to deal with a shocker today. But, ask Serena." Dmitri pulled his guitar out of its case and began to tune the strings.

"Ask me? You said we were both going to pick something!" Serena hooked the microphone up and plugged the cord into the amplifier.

"Choose, and I'll tell you if I think it's okay."

Serena glared over at Dmitri. "Fine. Start with 'Addicted' by Saving Abel. Then 'Bodies' by Drowning Pool, and, let's throw in some 'Talk dirty to me' by Poison."

"Three different generations. You're bold, kid."

"You're a year older than us, Vincent. So, is that okay or not?"

"Fine with me."

"Same here." Anthony tuned his bass guitar and looked at Dmitri.

"I don't know…"

"Come on, dude. Stop teasing your sister." Anthony plugged his bass in and began to strum.

"Fine, fine. It's better than the time that she suggested that we play all White Stripes songs."

"Shut up, Dmitri. I forgot that they don't have a bassist."

"Alright, I'll give you that. Okay, so let's get started." Dmitri began to strum the first song's chords as Serena began to sing the first few lines before Vincent and Anthony began to play.

 _I'm so addicted to  
All the things you do  
When you're going down on me  
In between the sheets  
Oh the sounds you make  
With every breath you take  
It's unlike anything  
When you're loving me_

It was almost like they were really playing at a concert, because their friends were getting into the music with the help from the alcohol. It was almost as if the twins became different people as soon as the spotlight was on them. After their short round of songs, they decided to call it quits for the night and play drinking games. By the end of the night, the bottle of vodka was gone, and nearly 3/4ths of the Jägermeister bottle was empty.

Despite there being only seven people at the party, the house's appearance turned rough within no time. Serena and Sara took turns calming the men down when they became too loud with their conversations and games. But even their moods were beginning to fade by 1 AM.

"I'm so exhausted.. I thought your brother said this was only going to be a few hours." Sara rubbed her eyes and yawned. "I'm sorry, that wasn't nice of me to say."

"Don't worry. I'm getting tired, too. You're going to stay in my room, right? I was going to let Emil and Mickey sleep in the guest bedroom since Dmitri's room is pretty small."

"Sounds good to me. Do you mind if I go to bed?"

"Not at all. You know where the blankets and pillows are."

"Thank you, you're too kind. Oh, did you see where Mickey went?"

"No. I don't even know where Dmitri and Emil went to. I can hear Anthony and Vincent packing up."

"Well, if you see him, tell him I said goodnight." She smiled and hugged Serena. "You and I can talk more tomorrow. You and your band did an amazing job tonight."

"Aw, thank you. We still have a few things to practice and work on. Like setting up a legit song list for example. Maybe you'll hear more during your trip here."

"I'd like that. Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow." She pulled away and disappeared up the steps.

Serena stood there for a moment before she snapped back to reality. "Right. Maybe I should go to bed, too." She walked into the den and looked at her other band members. "Thanks again, you two. I hope you both are okay to drive home."

"We are. Thanks again for having us. We both had fun."

"What Anthony said. We'll call you in a couple of days to discuss our next practice. We would contact Dmitri but.. you know.. he's not exactly good at that type of thing."

"Yeah. I know. I'm sorry about that."

"It's no problem. Tell everyone we said goodnight." They walked towards the door and walked outside. Serena leaned against the door frame and waved to them.

"Will do. Be careful!" She shut the door and looked around. "All right. Now where did everyone go?" Serena walked towards the kitchen and heard stumbling coming from the basement stairs. She looked down the stairwell and saw that Emil was struggling to climb the steps.

"Emil?"

"Heyyyy! Serena! Thank goodness I found you.."

"I found you, actually. You reek of liquor!" She frowned and knelt to his level. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up. I highly doubt you are able to do so by yourself right now." She lifted him as best as she could and threw his left arm around her shoulders. "All right. So far, so good."

"Oh, thank you so much!" He grinned and let out a shaky laugh. "I may have drank too much."

"You think? That's not good for you."

"I know. I'm sorry. Oh! But I did want to talk to you about something.." He slurred as he wiped his mouth. "I never knew you were so good at singing! I've only seen you skate before."

"What, so you thought my life was dull or something? Jeez.. you need to help me out here. You're putting your dead weight on me. I'm shorter and smaller than you." She helped him to the staircase and began pulling him upstairs.

"Sorry. I was looking for Mickey before you found me."

"You were stumbling up the stairs. From the basement. Why were you down there, anyways?"

"Dmitri took me down there to the wine cellar. He popped a bottle of champagne and challenged me to drink it all! I got half way, and then threw it all back up."

"Oh my god! Emil, how much did you drink tonight?!"

Emil looked at his hand and then back down at the steps. "Like.. at least a fifth of Jaeger by myself. And that champagne. And then vodka.."

"Idiot, you're not supposed to mix alcohol. Never mind that, it's Dmitri's fault for breaking into the wine cellar and stealing a bottle of champagne. Dad's not going to be happy about that one."

"Well, don't worry! It was tasty."

"I'm sure it was." Serena laughed and shook her head. "Alright, but more importantly, where is my brother at?"

"Downstairs. Passed out from what I can remember. Oh god, I feel sick again.." He groaned and covered his mouth with his right hand.

"Alright, in we go. Bathroom." Serena dragged Emil into the bathroom and as soon as he caught sight of the waste basket, he grabbed it and became sick. "At least we got you in here in time."

"I-Yeah.. I'm sorry, Serena." Emil wiped his mouth and gave her a weak smile. "I guess I've been drinking to forget some things."

"It's all right. Life is stressful for a lot of people right now. Here, can you sit up against the outside of the bathtub? I'm going to change out the trash can. You'll have the toilet if you get sick again. Oh, here's some mouth wash. I know how it feels to have a bad taste in the mouth."

"Thank you. I really do appreciate you being so kind."

"Haven't I always been kind to you?"

"You have." He reached over to Serena and picked up the small bottle of mouth wash from her hands. "But taking care of another man.. aren't you worried that Dmitri will become angry?"

"He can get over himself." She sighed and tied the bag up. "You and I have been friends since before his hatred for other guys came about. He only seems to trust you and Mickey around me. Because he knows you both so well, and he knows that you would never harm me."

"I'd never dream of it." He smiled up at Serena. "We've always been really good friends. Just the five of us."

"Yeah, but you see Mickey and Sara way more than you see us."

"Doesn't matter." Emil opened the small bottle of mouth wash and swished the minty liquid around in his mouth before spitting it out into the toilet. "Spearmint. Nice."

"Figured you'd like that." Serena reached up in the bathroom cabinet and pulled out a wash cloth. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm starting to feel pretty good.."

"Are you sure? Or are you still drunk?" She turned the faucet on and wet the cloth thoroughly before wringing the excess water out.

"Yeah. Just a little."

"Just a lot." She knelt to his level and began to wipe his mouth and chin off. "There. That's much better, isn't it?"

"Serena."

"Hmm?"

Emil reached out and scooped the back of Serena's head up into his right hand. He pulled her to him and embraced her with a kiss. Serena's eyes widened as she pulled away. She covered her mouth and stood up. "Emil.. why did you-"

Emil leaned over the toilet and began to throw up once more. Serena sighed and knelt back down to his level, as if she had completely forgotten what had happened moments before. "Get it all out.. it's okay." She spoke softly as she rubbed his back.

Emil sat up and wiped his mouth off. "I'm so sorry, I didn't throw up because I kissed you, I swear! I'm just.. I'm just.."

"Really drunk. Come on. It's almost 2 AM. You need to rest this off. I'll get your bed ready in the guest room and then I'll get you some water."

"Alright." Emil tried to stand up, but fell back down. "Maybe I should just stay here."

"No, I'm going to get you to a room. And then I'm going to find Mickey so he can watch after you for the night. Sara's staying the night in my room, and Dmitri's passed out in the cellar. I'll give him a few blankets, but he can stay down there." Serena helped Emil up and down the hall to the guest bedroom. "Here. It only has one bed, but it's queen sized so it should be enough for you both to share. Hope you don't mind sharing a bed with another man. Not that doing so is a bad thing."

"Yeah.." Emil stumbled out of Serena's reach and towards the bed. He flopped back and looked up at the ceiling. "Hey Serena…?"

"Yes, Emil?" She helped him up, unzipped his jacket and hung it on the bed post.

"You know you're gorgeous, right?"

"Gee, Emil, that's so nice of you to say." She rolled her eyes and helped him underneath the blankets.

"But, that's not all."

"Oh, and that is?"

"Hey Serena?"

She let out a long sigh and looked down at him. "Yes, Emil?"

He closed his eyes and smiled weakly. "Do you think Mickey will ever return the feelings for me?"

Serena paused. "Emil..? What are you talking about?"

There was a long pause before Serena heard snores coming from the bed. She turned the light off, and left the room. "This weekend has already been weird. Is this my consequence for taking a bigger bite than I could chew?" She slipped down the hallway and into her room. Sara was already curled up on the floor, asleep.

"At least someone knows what's up." Serena smiled and walked out of her room and downstairs. "I guess everyone left. Good." She made her way to the basement door and walked down the stairs. "Dmitri? If you're awake, make a sound."

"What time is it? Why am I in the cellar?"

"Emil was right, you DID pass out." Serena began to laugh as she walked into the cellar. Dmitri was propped up against one of the cellar walls with half a bottle of champagne nesting in his left hand and his cellphone in his right. "Please tell me you didn't take drunk selfies and post them on Instagram for everyone to see."

"Maybe. I don't know. We'll find out tomorrow. Jesus, I feel like I've been hit by a train. Wait, why am I by myself?"

"You weren't. You brought Emil down here and challenged him to drink a whole bottle of champagne."

"Oh shit! No way!"

"Yes, way. And you possibly gave Emil alcohol poisoning. He's already thrown up twice!"

"Nice. That's my guy." He began to laugh and stumbled while trying to stand up.

"No, it's not. I had to help him to the bathroom, clean him up, and help him to bed."

"Whoa whoa, you didn't see him naked, did you?!"

"What? No! Have more faith in me and in your friend!"

"I do. I just know that he's had a crush on you since he first met you. But, he's got this creepy attachment to Mickey."

"They're best friends. Emil looks up to Mickey. It's great."

"If you say so." Dmitri gained his balance and stood up straight. "Well, at least you were kind enough to help a friend out."

"I always try. You know me."

"I do. You and I may have gotten most of our good looks from dad, but you got mom's pure heart and soul."

"So did you. Well, to an extent."

"If you say so. I'm like dad. You know it's true."

"I know. But, that's a good thing. Come on, let's get you to your room. Everyone's already gone. By the way, do you know where Mickey is? I haven't seen him in almost an hour?"

"Last I heard, he was going to grab something to eat from our fridge and take a shower."

"Alright. Well he wasn't in the upstairs bathroom when we were up there."

"Then the downstairs one is your ticket. Why does it matter?"

"Emil was looking for him. He's drunk. He needs someone else to look after him. I'm exhausted." Serena helped Dmitri to his room and sat him down on the edge of his bed. "Are you at least coherent enough to change out of your clothes? You smell like alcohol."

"Yeah. I think I can manage."

"Here. Just in case you end up like Emil." She grabbed a small waste basket and placed it by his bed.

"Thanks. And, try to get a good night's rest. You and I are waking up early to go train."

"Really? While our friends are here?"

"They're going to help out! I talked to Mickey and Emil while you and Sara were talking. And, we're pretty sure that Sara will be more than willing to help. We've got to get you a gorgeous routine down so you can slay all of the competition."

"That's nice of you all, but I'll become embarrassed."

"Why?"

"Because I have only skated in front of you for the past 5 years. Although they're my friends, I just don't want to be judged."

"Well, too bad. It's going to happen. Take the help. We actually want to succeed, remember?"

"Alright, alright. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight."

"Night sis."

Serena walked out of her brother's room and down the hall. She heard someone walking up the stairs, and noticed Mickey making his way towards her. "Ah, there you are! I was wondering how long I would have to look for you."

"Not very long, it seems." He smiled and stopped in front of her. "You didn't get trashed too, did you?"

Serena shook her head. "Sara and I got tipsy, but I didn't drink enough to completely mess me up. My brother and Emil on the other hand.."

"Yeah, I know. Dmitri drug him down to the wine cellar for a little challenge. I knew it couldn't be good, but when Emil is drunk, he can be too stubborn. But, I really do appreciate you drinking with Sara and keeping an eye on her intake. You know how she can get."

"True. And you all know how I can get after one too many drinks."

"We all stick together and take care of each other. You know the rules. So, why were you looking for me?"

"Well, as I said before, Emil drank way too much. He got sick, so I helped clean him up and took him to the guest bedroom. He was asking where you were."

"Sounds like Emil." Mickey shook his head and sighed. "He needs to watch how much he drinks. I don't want him to make himself really sick."

"I know. Oh! I forgot to get him a glass of water! I'm so awful."

"Don't worry about it. I'll grab one for him. You go get some sleep, I'll take care of him from here."

"Thank you, Mickey. You're such a good friend." Serena walked over to her door and opened it. "Goodnight."

"Same to you. Goodnight."

"You're already asleep, huh?" Mickey walked into the room with a glass of water in his hand and looked over towards the bed. Emil was sprawled out across the bed and hugging onto the extra pillow next to him. Mickey smirked and sat on the edge of the bed as he ran his fingers through his damp hair.

"I don't blame you. Tonight was pretty crazy. You drank a lot. You kept asking me to take shots with you, but little did you know that I can hold my alcohol pretty well." Mickey looked back, and his smile frowned. "Still.. you need to take care of yourself. You have competitions to win." Mickey stood up and took his shirt off. "I don't know why I'm talking to you like you can hear me. You're out cold." He slipped into bed and looked at Emil before brushing his fingers through his friend's soft hair.

"Mmm.. Mickey.."

He snapped his hands away and watched as Emil's lips curled into a smile.

"Are.. you awake?".

There was no reply. Only the faint sound of breathing.

"Thank god." Mickey exhaled roughly and caressed Emil's cheek quickly before closing his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dmitri woke up the next morning and rubbed his eyes. _'_ _What the hell happened to me last night?'_ He sat up in bed and held his head in his palms. _'_ _I'll never drink that much again in one setting.'_ Dmitri reached over and scooped his cellphone up from his night stand. "Let's see who else had a wild night last night.." he exhaled as he began to scroll through Instagram.

"Hmm.. Viktor and Yuri are in Barcelona again for their anniversary, A selfie of Michele, Sara and Emil… Oh? JJ the King posting angst?" Dmitri clicked onto JJ's profile and began to scan through his pictures. "Poor guy." He scoffed as he scrolled through. "He needs to get laid." He tossed his phone aside and looked over towards the door. "I should probably do the same, to be honest. Maybe that will take away the edge of stress." he exhaled as he walked over to the door. He walked out of his room and walked towards Serena's.

With a quick tap on her door, he opened it and noticed that Sara was still curled up on the floor, asleep. Serena was also asleep, turned over as soon as he walked in. "Hey. Come on. It's time to get up. We have a lot to do today."

Serena groaned and placed her pillow over her head. "No."

"Come on, Serena."

"Just 10 more minutes."

"Now.." He sighed as he walked over to her bed and ripped the pillow away from her hands and head.

"Alright, alright." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "No need to be a jerk.."

"I'm not. You are the one who wants this. You need my help."

"Mmm do I need to get up, too? Is Mickey awake?" Sara sat up and yawned.

"No. You can sleep a little more. We're going to make breakfast for everyone." Serena stood up from her bed and walked out of the room with her brother. She shut her door and looked up at Dmitri. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I feel awful, duh. But I can't let that hinder me from helping you out. I need to practice as well." He walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

"So, what should I fix for breakfast?"

"Breakfast Paninos. Do we have the ingredients to make them?"

"Unless you want just egg and the bread.."

"Nevermind. Did mom and dad leave ANYTHING for us to eat?"

"Looks like.." Serena opened the cupboard and smiled back at Dmitri. "Nope! But there's a package of unopened amaretto biscotti. We can have these and coffee. Sound okay to you, Principe?"

"Fine. We're breaking into the restaurant rainy day fund since our parents didn't leave us any money for food. They were in too much of a hurry."

"That's for necessary repairs! You can't just do that, Dmitri." Serenity scolded her brother as he began to brew himself a cup of coffee. He poured the black liquid into the mug and stirred in 3 sugar cubes and acted as if nothing was going on.

"Relax. They can replace what we use when they get home. Besides, it's not like we are taking thousands. Just enough to help us survive for the next few days until they get home." He pushed himself off the counter and grabbed his finish cup of brewed coffee. "I'm going to run upstairs and get ready to go practice. I'll be down in a little bit."

"Don't you want breakfast?"

"I'll grab two of them when I come back for my second cup of coffee. But, thank you." He grinned and caressed her cheek. "You're such an awesome sibling, always taking care of me."

"Well, you take care of me. So, we're even."

"Right. Gotcha." He smirked and walked towards the staircase. "You should get ready soon, too. We have practicing to do."

"Yeah yeah." She opened the package of biscotti and poured herself a cup of coffee. Moments later, she heard footsteps coming downstairs. _'_ _Jeez.. is he already ready to go? I haven't even started to drink my coffee..'_ Serena took a sip and looked up from her mug to see Emil walking into the kitchen.

"Good morning." Emil grinned at Serena and grabbed an empty mug from the cabinet before pouring himself a cup of coffee. He sat down next to her and looked her in the eyes. "Hey, about what happened last night.. thanks."

"Thanks?"

"Yeah. You took care of me. You helped me upstairs to the bathroom and cleaned me up when I got sick."

"Oh, you remember that part, huh?" Serena grinned as she grabbed a biscotti from the package.

"Yeah.. I…" His voice began to trail off "Remember more than that. Serena, I'm so sorry I did that to you. You must have wanted to kill me right then and there. I want you to know, that I never meant to upset you in any way."

"Emil, relax." Serena let out a soft laugh and dipped her biscotti into her coffee before taking a small bite. "I understand what alcohol can do to a person. We've all been drunk before. We do stupid stuff-"

"I was drunk, but I've been wanting to do that for quite some time. But, we were alone and away from your brother and-"

"Emil, relax. You're getting really worked up right now."

"You know I've liked you since I first met you back at camp. And, even though I know I never have a chance with you, I wanted to try. Drunk or not. But, I got what I wanted… and it didn't feel right."

"I'm sorry, Emil. Please understand that I am not upset with you at all. I care for you greatly. You're one of my best friends."

"I've been drinking for a lot of reasons."

"Emil, please don't drink because of me!"

"I don't."

"Then why do you get so drunk that you get sick? You could have died if you drank too much more."

"It's so difficult to talk about." He cupped his mug and looked down into his beverage.

"Emil, this isn't about what happened last night, is it?"

Emil shook his head and looked back up at her. "I mean, I wanted to apologize, but I think I need to explain to someone how I'm feeling. You must promise to not say anything. I trust you more than anyone else in this house."

"Of course, but I don't understand why this is so severe-"

"I'm in love with Mickey."

Serena covered her mouth and let out a small gasp. "So THAT'S what you meant last night when I tucked you in…"

"Meant what? What did I say?!" Emil began to blush as he looked away from Serena.

"You asked me if Mickey would ever return the feelings that you have for him. I didn't know what to think of it. I assumed that it was because you were drunk."

"Oh God. Please tell me you didn't say anything to your brother, Sara or Mickey.."

"Never! That isn't my place to say anything. However, I DO think you need to sit down and speak with him." Serena took his hand into both of hers. "I see how much you care for him. I never thought it was love, but I knew it was strong. And to think, you both compete against each other, but you cheer each other on. There is no ill will rivalry."

"Thanks. But, I don't stand a chance with him."

"Why would you say that?" Serena frowned.

"He's wrapped around Sara's little finger, that's why. Don't get me wrong, Sara is a very good friend of mine, and I wish nothing but good things for her. But, I honestly think Mickey needs to move on and live his own life. He doesn't have to cut ties with her. I'd never ask him to do that."

"I know you wouldn't. I hate to say it, being a twin myself, but you're right. Everyone needs to live their own lives at some point, and live for what THEY want, and not what anyone else wants. Not cutting ties, but moving on and starting a family with someone you really care about."

"That's your dream, isn't it?"

"Huh?!" Serena snapped her hands back and grabbed her cup of coffee and took a quick sip. "I don't know what you're talking about. I want this restaurant and this house in my name. You KNOW I only focus on one goal at a time. There's no use in having millions of dreams. They won't ALL come true."

"Oh come on. There's nothing wrong with wanting to find your other half and settle down with them." Emil grinned widely. "You're so talented, and you have a wonderful personality. You have a great heart, and you're gorgeous. You'll have no problem making that dream a reality. I promise you that."

"I have no doubt about that. One day, it will happen. And I will be ecstatic. But right now, I need to win. I'm so focused on winning, and I haven't even had a whole day to wrap my head around what's in store for me."

"Serena, you'll do great. No matter where you go or what you do, you'll always have us cheering you on."

"Thank you, Emil. I'll always cherish our friendship and take it with me everywhere I go." Serena dipped her biscotti once more and took a bite. "However, we were talking about you, not me. So, let's get back to that."

"I don't stand a chance?" He raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee.

"Ah, yeah! That. Listen, you're a very handsome guy. You care about your friends before yourself, and even though you should focus on your life, you need to set out on what makes you happy. If that's being with Mickey, then do just that. What's the worst that could happen?"

"He could say no."

"Exactly."

"And never speak with me again."

"He wouldn't do that! He was asking where you were last night-"

"He what?! You didn't tell me that! I mean, I know I shared a bed with him.. I woke up in the middle of the night to him wrapping his arms around me. I didn't say anything, because I didn't want it to end. He actually let go about 30 minutes ago, and I laid there afterwards and told myself how lucky I was."

"That's so sweet, Emil. I really think you should speak to him. It looks like he has some hidden feelings that he needs help to reveal."

"That, or he just did it without knowing."

"Emil.. don't think that way."

"Don't think what way?" Dmitri walked back into the kitchen wearing black sweatpants with a navy blue tank top and a tan jacket.

"Nothing! Why are you dressed like that? You're going to freeze."

"Not a chance. You know I get hot."

"And I freeze." Serena watched Emil stand up and smile softly at her. "Thanks for talking. We'll talk more later. I've got some things to think about." He walked out of the kitchen and ran up the steps. Dmitri gave Serena a cold stare as he poured his second cup of coffee. He pulled up before the hot liquid poured over the edge.

"What is he talking about?"

"Dmitri, relax. It's nothing serious."

He cleared his throat and took a sip of his coffee before grabbing a biscotti and snapping it in half without struggle. "If you say so."

"I do. It isn't about me. I can't tell you what's going on because that's his business and he trusts me not to say anything, but I can assure you that it has nothing to do with me. Relax."

"Okay." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm trying-"

"Not hard enough. I know you're scared to lose me. You won't."

"You're damn right." He smirked at her and tossed one of the halves of biscotti into his coffee and pushed it around with a tea spoon. "You're my baby sister. I'm allowed to protect you."

"But.. it's true that you and I must part at some point. Not forever, but to build onto our own lives. It scares me to think about it, but it has to happen."

"I'm aware of that. But, that doesn't mean that I won't always protect my sister." He sipped his coffee and fished the piece of biscotti out with his spoon. He slurped the softened half into his mouth and began to chew. When he swallowed, he took another sip and began to speak again. "I want you to succeed. And you know you can't do it without me."

"Yeah.. I know.." Serena stood up and walked towards the doorway.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going upstairs to get ready for practice. I'll be down in a bit."

 _'_ _I told someone. Now, it shouldn't be hard to tell Mickey..'_ Emil stared into the bathroom mirror and planted his palms firmly onto the marble countertop. He took a deep breath and reached for the small bottle of mouth wash that he used earlier. _'_ _I can do this. No.. I must do this. Serena's right. It's not healthy to drink my feelings away. Hopefully he thinks the same way I do.'_

Emil swished a small amount of minty liquid in his mouth before spitting it into the sink. He looked into the mirror once more before turning away and walking towards the guest bedroom. He took a deep breath and slowly turned the doorknob before opening the door. He looked in and saw that Mickey was sitting up in bed, running his fingers through his hair. It appeared that he had just awaken. He turned his head towards the door as soon as he heard Emil step in.

"Hey, good morning."

"Good morning." Emil grinned and walked in. "So, how did you sleep?"

"I slept pretty good. I woke up a couple of times in the middle of the night to check up on you."

Emil's heart skipped a beat. "Y-you didn't have to do that, Mickey."

"But I had to. Serena told me what you did. I wish you'd take better care of yourself."

"I'm sorry, Mickey. I really am. I promise, I'll take better care of myself and stop drinking as much."

"Good. And if you don't, I'll kick your ass." He smirked at Emil and noticed a deep blush form across his friend's cheeks. He raised an eyebrow and sat back against the headboard. "What's wrong? Are you hung over? Your cheeks are really red suddenly."

"Mickey, I need to talk to you."

"What's going on? You've been acting strange lately, but you're acting really strange right now."

"I'm sorry. I just need to tell you what's on my mind and my heart."

"All right, well, I'm listening."

"I like you, Mikey. No. I love you. I have for a while. It's a strong feeling. I drink because I'm afraid that you don't feel the same."

Mickey lunged forward and embraced Emil in a tight hug. "You idiot! Don't ever drink your feelings away for me!"

"I'm sorry. It's the only thing that takes my mind off everything that I feel."

"It isn't bad to feel love for someone. You're going with your heart, right?" He pulled away and stared into Emil's eyes.

"Of course. But, I'm afraid of a broken heart."

"I'm not letting that happen." He cupped Emil's jaw in his hand and leaned closer. "I love my sister, and I care for her, but I have feelings for someone else. I hope she understands that everything I have wanted for the past few years has finally been lifted off my shoulders."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm in love with you too, you fool." He embraced him in a kiss and laid him back onto the plush bed. He parted the kiss and ran his fingers through Emil's hair. "I know that I always talk about Sara, but aren't my signs of affection clear to you?"

Emil shook his head nervously. "Not.. really.."

"Well, now you know. So, there's no more heavy drinking for you, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." Mickey pinned his wrists to the bed and pressed his lips against Emil's, letting his tongue slide in between his friend's soft lips. He pulled away moments later and noticed that Emil's face was covered in a deep blush.

"Please tell me this isn't a dream."

"It's not." Mickey pulled away and stared down at Emil. "It's a dream come true, huh?"

"It really is, Mickey." Emil wiped his eyes quickly and began to laugh nervously. "I'm sorry I'm crying, I have just always cared so much about you, and hearing that you care about me just as much, it's so overwhelming."

"Don't cry." Mickey wiped his tears away with his thumbs and helped Emil sit up. "We need to keep this to ourselves for just a little bit. Everyone will find out eventually, but I need to find a way to break it to my parents and Sara."

"Sara would never be upset with you."

"But I don't know about my parents." He reached over and tasseled Emil's hair. "If Sara finds out, she finds out. But right now, I'm not worried about making our relationship publicly known."

"Our relationship?"

"Yeah. I want to date you. Got a problem? Is this not what you want"

"N-No! I want to date you, too! I wouldn't have confessed my feelings if I didn't want to."

"Great. Then it's settled. Tonight, we can properly spend time with each other without you getting drunk."

Emil rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Of course."

~*Author's note*~

Thank you again for all of the favorites and the follows! I never expected to have any readers, and it really makes me feel good that I have people that support my work! With all of your dedication, I feel like I can write happily each day. And for that, thank you 3


	4. Chapter 4

**NSFW CONTENT BELOW!**

Ch 4

Dmitri made his way upstairs and knocked gently on Serena's door. "Hey. Are you almost ready? We should probably get going soon."

"I'm almost done, I'm just finishing right now."

"Alright. Well, Mickey, Emil, and I are going to head to the rink. You two be careful, okay?" He walked down the hall and down the stairs.

"Will do." Serena was dressed in a black track suit with vertical green, white and red stripes running down the sleeves. She pulled her hair up into a high bun with a green ribbon. "Does this look okay?"

"It looks really cute! It's been forever since I've seen you in that!"

"Yeah, 5 years does seem like forever, huh?" Serena looked at herself in the mirror with a straight face. "I'm sorry if I mess up in front of you all, I haven't had an audience for awhile now."

"Don't even think about it! Just do you."

"Thank you, Sara. Come on, the boys will be waiting on us." Serena grabbed her car keys off her dresser and led her friend out of her room. On the drive over, they continued to talk about how life with twin brothers was hindering them from living normal lives as females. They talked about their skating crushes, and who they would go all the way with when Serena cut the conversation short.

"Alright. Enough about that. Can't someone find love first?" A soft blush formed across her cheeks. Sara laughed and waved her hand.

"Relax, miss virtuous. There's nothing wrong with having female hormones and wanting a man to love you."

"A man can love you without having sex with you. A real man will charm you, guide you, and take care of you. I just don't want you to get your heart broken, that's all. You're my best friend."

"And you're mine." Sara smiled and looked out the window. "I don't want you to get your heart broken, either. But, it's okay to like someone again. The past is behind you, and now you get to make a new future."

"You act like everything was taken away from me."

"You were kissed by a guy who you had strong feelings for, and he ended up being a total jerk and trying to force you into things you didn't want. Thank goodness you were able to defend yourself."

"I know. Can we not talk about it right now? I don't want to get worked up before I get on the ice."

"Right. I'm sorry, Serena."

"It's okay. You didn't upset me." Serena smiled over at her friend and looked forward. "We're here."

"Wow.. its.. not like I remembered it, that's for sure." Sara unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car once Serena placed it in park. "The paint job could use some work, that's for sure." Serena got out, locked her car, and led her friend inside after a few moments of silence.

"It's really expensive to keep up with, alright? My aunt and uncle run the place, and my cousins are off at college. They have no need to keep the place anymore, so why start dealing with it now? The inside is still nice, I promise."

"I believe you."

"Good. Oh yeah, it looks like the boys are already here." Serena looked back at the parking lot and then back at the entrance. She opened the unlocked door and held it open for her friend. "After you."

"Thank you! Oh, you're right! It is much nicer inside!" Sara slipped her coat off and hung it on the coat rack at the front desk. "I don't think I'm going to skate today. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Aw, alright." Serena went behind the counter and pulled a box out from one of the cabinets. "I haven't worn them in about a week. I feel like I neglected them." She opened the lid and pulled out a pair of black skates with green, white, and red stripes down the sides. The blades were a polished steel and were cased in green blade guards.

"They're still so pretty! You've always kept very good care of your skates."

"Well, I got them for my 18th birthday, and stopped wearing them after I stopped skating. I just started back up about a few months ago. However, I only skate in front of Dmitri."

"Hey, are you two coming or not? Come on! We don't have all day!" Dmitri walked up to the counter and shook his head. "You two are late."

"Yeah, yeah. Calm down, will ya?" Serena walked over to the bench and began to slip her shoes off. She slipped her skates on and began to lace them. "You could have already started to practice."

"I've already warmed up. You need to do the same. I started making up the choreography for the routine I want to teach you. I figured it's difficult enough to land you a spot in the top three."

"Okay." Serena stood up and began to stretch. After Dmitri made his way back on the ice, Sara turned to Serena and began to speak again.

"He seems a lot harsher now."

"He's just concerned, that's all."

"He seems like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"That's probably the truth. Serena stood up, walked into the arena and up to the rink entrance. She was hesitant to step onto the ice in front of her friends again, but after a moment of inner persuasion, she could do so. She slid across the ice to the center, with her twin brother skating behind her.

"Alright, glad to see you finally made it." Dmitri smirked and placed his hands on his hips. "Go head and practice some jumps first. Can you do that?"

"Sure can." Serena began to pick up speed as she took a lap around the rink. She started off with a toe loop that she landed perfectly. Or at least, in her mind she did.

"What was that?"

"Shut it, Dmitri." She zipped by him and made her second jump a Lutz, landing it perfectly.

"There we go! That's what I want to see!" Dmitri began to clap as their friends followed his lead. "How about a double Axel? Do you still have it in you?"

Without speaking, Serena did as told and landed almost perfectly. She caught herself before plummeting to the ice below her. "It's okay, Serena! Get back up! You got this!" Sara shouted as she began to wave her hands in the air.

'She sure is enthusiastic. I wish I could be like that today.' Serena sighed and tried to stand up, but ended up falling back. Dmitri skated towards her and held his hand out.

"Come on, I got you."

Serena took his hand and stood up. "I'm sorry. I know you must be disappointed."

"Only a little." He smirked and brushed her back with his right hand. "I shouldn't have had you start with jumps."

"You always do, though."

"I know. Guilty. Alright, let's start with some routines. Want to show everyone what you came up with a couple of weeks ago?"

"Sure. Just don't be too harsh on me, okay?"

"No promises. Make me proud." Dmitri smiled and skated towards the rink gate. After he climbed over and reunited with his friends, Serena began to skate to her song-less routine. Mickey leaned over and began to whisper to Dmitri.

"She's doing great for not competing for 5 years."

"We've been practicing outside of that. I was hoping that she would pick back up on competing, and my hopes came true. She's so happy doing what she does." He grinned and leaned against the wall of the rink.

"I think all of us wanted her to compete again. Well, we all wanted both of you to compete again. But, after what happened, Serena needs to gain her sparkle back." Emil looked over at Dmitri. "Just don't be too hard on her, okay?"

"Oh, she knows I'm only teasing. I tell her to go big or don't come home."

"But, she might take that seriously one day, Dmitri." Sara frowned as she watched Serena finish her routine. "Jokes can only be taken so far."

"She knows what I mean and what I don't mean. Relax. I'm not a bad guy."

"We know you're not. But, Serena isn't a guy. She has different feelings and hormones that you don't have. Take it from another female." Sara walked over to the gate and embraced Serena in a tight hug. "You did amazing out there!"

"You think so?" Serena grinned and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "It feels great to do that."

"You did great, but there are some things to work on. Of course, I'll help you do it."

"Gee, thanks Dmitri." Serena sighed and shook her head. "Well, I think I'm done for the day. I could go for some relaxation before we do anything else crazy." Serena stepped over the gate and slipped her blade guards on before walking to the lobby.

"That sounds wonderful! My head's starting to hurt, so maybe a nap will help."

"Oh Sara. You should have told me so I could have gotten you some medicine." Mickey frowned and draped his arms across Sara's shoulders.

"It's okay, really. It just started happening."

"Well, let's get home and relax for a bit. Come on, Sara. You can ride with me again." Serena took her friend's hand and led her out to the car. "Sorry it didn't go as planned."

"Serena, you did fine!"

"If you say so."

After they all arrived back at the house, Serena ran up to her room and grabbed her favorite book. Sara went and laid down on the couch while Mickey laid on the floor next to her. Emil ran off upstairs to take a shower, and Dmitri began making a list of food items that they needed to last them for the rest of the week. He asked Serena if she wanted to join him, but she politely declined and curled back up with her book. He made his way downstairs and saw that Mickey was walking towards the kitchen. He followed behind and poured himself a glass of water before speaking to his friend.

"Hey, I can't find Emil, but I figured you and I could run out to the store and get some ingredients for snacks and maybe some beer for tonight. I kind of want to have a little relaxation time between all of us. Not exactly a party, just a couple of drinks and some conversation."

"Sounds good to me. I think Emil went to take a shower. Poor Sara's headache started to get worse, so I stayed with her until she fell asleep."

"And Serena is curled up on her bed with her nose in a book. I guess that leaves us to do the job. Come on. It shouldn't take long." Dmitri threw his jacket on and walked towards the front door. Mickey got up and followed him.

"You okay? You seem a little tense."

"I'm just going through some changes." Dmitri unlocked his car and both climbed inside. He started the car and drove off towards town.

"Changes?"

"Yeah. Getting older and watching your baby sister become independent without you."

"Trust me. I know that all too well. That's why I feel like I can talk to you. How do you feel about Serena getting married and starting a family? I know Sara wants it."

"I don't know, really. I have mixed feelings. Part of me is sad because she won't need my help and guidance anymore. Part of me is angry because I don't trust anyone with her heart and feelings. And, I feel scared."

"I feel scared, too. That's part of being a big brother."

"I'm afraid that she will cut ties with me once she has her own family."

"That would never happen. Sara wouldn't do it to me, and neither would Serena. You two have been together through thick and thin. She would be miserable without you in her life."

"You're right. I'm just overreacting. I just want her to succeed in everything she does."

"I want the same for Sara."

"Fair enough. Alright, let's switch things up. What do you think Sara would do if you started dating?"

"She'd be estatic. She has been wanting me to date. But I think that's because she wants to date."

"I see. I think Serena would be okay. She might get jealous at times."

"Serena? Jealous? She doesn't seem like that type of sister."

"She isn't. But when she wants to be near me, she gets her way. Kind of the same with me. You know how twins are. You're a twin yourself."

Mickey laughed and nodded. "Yeah. I know. But, I'm sure once Serena finds the right partner, that jealousy will fade." He frowned and looked out the window. "The same will happen with Sara."

"Don't be sad. You'll find someone. You're a good-looking guy."

"So are you. I remember there were so many chicks that wanted to date you at camp."

"I wasn't interested in any of them." Dmitri parked the car and sat back in his seat.

"Why not?"

"I was too focused on my skating career, and spending time with my sister."

"I don't blame you. You're a good brother."

"Thanks." He smiled and turned the car off. "I just want to help her succeed. No matter what it takes, I'll make sure it happens."

"Hey, Serena? Can I come in?" Emil poked his head through the doorway and crept inside.

"Of course. Sorry, I was just finishing this chapter and then I was going to come down and wake Sara up from her nap."

"No no, it's okay. I just..I need your help."

"Okay? What's wrong?" Serena frowned and shut her book. "I'm sorry, I can pick back up on the chapter later. You can talk to me."

"I want to learn Italian..for Mickey."

"Ahh! That's so sweet! I take it things went well?"

"Yeah. Very well, actually." Emil blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "So, do you think you can drive me to the bookstore? I figured I would pick up a book to teach myself."

"I can. I figured I was going to teach you a few things."

"You can, if I can't figure out something. I want to speak to him in his native language"

"Okay. Well you could speak and I could help you. If you mess up, that is."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it. Speaking of, have you seen Mickey?"

Serena shook her head. "I'm afraid not. He might have gone with Dmitri to the store. I told him I didn't want to go because I'm not feeling up to it."

"Are you feeling alright? We don't have to go today if you don't feel well."

"I feel fine. I'm just very nervous about competing again."

"Why? You did great at your first practice today."

"That was in front of my brother and friends. I'll be competing in front of thousands of viewers."

"And? You'll do great! We will all be there to cheer you both on."

"But how? You all won't be at every competition. Dmitri and I must win qualifiers before we can move on. And so do you and everyone else. We might compete in different countries."

"We will always find a way. We've been friends for quite some time. I wouldn't lie to you."

"I know." Serena stood up from her bed and sat her book on her nightstand. "Come on. We have an hour before the store closes." She grabbed her keys and led Emil down the stairs and outside to her car. Once inside, she started her car and began to drive towards town. Things were quiet, until Emil cleared his throat and began to talk again.

"You did really well today."

"Thanks."

"We all thought so. Not just me."

"It means a lot to me. It really does."

"I know. And that's why I'm telling you."

"Again, thank you." Serena smiled and focused her eyes on the road in front of her. "So, you said things went well but you never told me what happened."

"I told him how much I cared for him, and that I wanted to be with him. And, he agreed."

"Oh Emil, that's wonderful! I'm so happy to hear that!"

"Thanks. It feels good to finally be with the one you really care about. So, speaking of, do you think that you will ever find anyone to date?"

"Right now, I'm not worried about it. With a twin brother, it's hard to get close to anyone of the opposite sex. I'm surprised that he is okay with me being friends with you and Mickey. Honestly, It's not like I never thought about it. Right now, I just want to complete this goal before I worry about anything else."

"It's okay to be in a relationship and accomplish goals, you know."

"I know. But right now, I really want this goal to get accomplished. It's very important to me." Serena pulled into a small parking lot.

"I understand. I support you, and I'm sure Sara, Mickey and Dmitri support you as well."

"That's reassuring. Thank you. Okay, we're here. Let's get you a book and get back before Dmitri begins to freak out." She got out of the car and Emil followed close behind her.

"Sounds like a plan."

Serena took his hand and led him inside. "Hmm.. Non fiction.. fiction.. Oh! The learning section!" She pulled him over to the bookshelves and began to look through the lesson books. "Ah, this one!" She pulled out a small Italian lesson book. Serena flipped through it quickly and closed it before taking Emil's hand and leading him to the cashier.

"Are you sure? You haven't even looked through it well enough."

"It's good enough to start with." Serena paid the cashier and handed the book to Emil.

"Aw, I could have bought it."

"It's okay. Thank of it as a present." Serena grinned and walked back out to the car. Emil followed behind her and opened the book.

"This is already starting to make my head spin."

"That'll happen. Just take your time, and don't get embarrassed. You will learn how to speak perfectly in time." She started up the car and drove back home.

"I hope so. I just want to impress him."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. He likes you a lot, or he wouldn't be with you."

"Yeah, that's true. It's going to be hard for me to go back home. I won't get to be around him." Emil frowned and closed the book.

"Don't think about that, alright? You two will make it work. I have faith in you both."

"Thank you. I guess we can text and talk to each other, and even Skype."

"See? It'll be alright." Serena turned into her driveway and drove up to her home. She placed the car in park and got out.

"That was a quick trip. You're closer to town than what I thought."

"Yeah, if we weren't, I think Dmitri and I would go crazy."

"I would, too. Hmm, Someone must be burning something." Emil looked around and back at Serena.

"That's coming from out back." Serena walked around the house and to the gate. "Looks like Dmitri decided to make a bon fire." She grinned back at Emil. "You can hide the book really quick if you want to. It looks like everyone's already around the fire."

"Alright. I'll be back. I need to think of a good place to stash this. I don't want Mickey finding out this soon." Emil walked off towards the house while Serena opened the gate and walked over to her brother and friends.

"Hey sis, where have you been? We decided to hang out here tonight."

"Sorry. Emil and I had no idea where you and Mickey went, and Sara was taking a nap, so we went to the bookstore."

"Alright, just wanted to make sure you weren't over practicing. You did so well today that I thought you would never want to call it quits for the day."

"I was the one that suggested that we stopped. Although, I wish I could have practiced more. I just got really tired." She grinned and sat next to her brother. "Thank you all for being there and supporting me."

"Of course! That's what we're here for." Sara smiled and handed Serena a cold beer bottle. "Here. We aren't going to get completely wasted tonight or anything. We're just all going to have a couple of drinks and catch up."

"Sounds good to me." Serena grabbed the bottle and twist the cap off with the sleeve of her sweater. "So, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah! Much better, now. Mickey gave me some aspirin and I took a quick nap."

"Hey, where's Emil at?" Mickey looked around and back at Serena. "You brought him home, right?"

"Of course I did!" Serena laughed and took a sip of her beer. "I wouldn't leave him alone in a strange town. He's inside. He said he's going to change into something warmer."

"Good. Can't have anyone getting sick." Mickey picked up another bottle and opened it.

"Mickey, how many have you had?"

"This one's my second one, I promise." He grinned and wrapped his arm around Sara's shoulders. "I wouldn't lie to my sister."

"Alright. I trust you."

"So, back to earlier. I feel like you had a great practice, but tomorrow, we should work on your choreography. You looked just a little bit stiff."

"I did?" Serena frowned and became quiet. "I wish you would have told me then, I would have fixed it."

"It's nothing you can fix in a couple of hours, sis. I just need to think of another routine for you, that's all."

"I thought it was beautiful." Sara reached over and squeezed Serena's hand. "Don't be so hard on her, Dmitri. Siblings are supposed to criticize but be kind."

"If you say so." He took a swig of his beer. "She knows I don't mean it. Right, Serena?"

Serena stared into the fire pit. She heard what he was saying, but she wasn't sure she could answer him truthfully without pissing him off. She nodded instead of speak.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Emil walked over to the fire pit and took a seat next to Mickey.

"Huh? Oh. Nothing. We were just talking about practice this afternoon. I'm pretty tired from it, to be honest." Serena looked up at Emil and then back at the fire pit.

"Fair enough. You worked hard, and you did an amazing job."

"Thanks." Serena gave Emil a weak smile and took a sip of her beer.

"Ah, everyone's drinking? I guess I should sit this one out tonight-"

"Nonsense, everyone's having a couple of beers. We aren't getting drunk or anything. Come on, live a little." Mickey reached down and pulled a frosted beer from the bucket. He twist the cap off and handed it to Emil.

"Thank you!" Emil grinned and chugged a third of the bottle without any effort.

"Easy now." Mickey shook his head and then looked over at Dmitri and Serena. "So. If you both are actually going to compete again, what are you going to do about a coach?"

"We've got that sorted out. I'll coach Serena and she'll coach me."

"You know that won't work out, right? Each skater needs to have their own coach. If you think about it, you two may go to different places and compete. It all depends on how well you do. Sara and I are coached by our parents, although they aren't always with us in the kiss and cry. They know we're old enough to handle our emotions now, so Sara and I usually celebrate together."

"Well, have you both been split up before?"

"No. Not yet, and hopefully we will never have to be."

"Then I don't think Serena and I will have any problem. We'll be fine. We can always say that our dad is coaching and he couldn't be with us."

"Yeah, like that will go over well." Serena rolled her eyes and sighed. "Dmitri, we should really try to find someone to coach us."

"That won't happen! We're 23. No one wants to coach someone that is too old."

"We aren't too old, and there are people out there that will. It's uncommon, but it's possible." Serena finished her bottle and sat it down by her feet.

"I got it! I can coach you if I don't make it in, and you can coach me if you don't make it in. It's fool proof, Serena!"

"That doesn't sound easy, you two." Sara took a sip of her beer and looked at Dmitri. "Because, what happens if you both make it in? I mean, you both are amazing skaters. I would be very surprised if only one of you made it."

"Sara's right. I can always see if my coach would be willing to look for someone to help! Or, maybe he can help coach you two."

"Thanks Emil, but he already has you to coach, and coaching one person is enough."

"True. Well, there are skaters who retire from competing and go on to coaching others! There's a list that you must be put on, and most of the time, they will only choose one person. But, you can both hope for the best!"

"Well, we have two weeks to figure something out. Serena and I really don't want to split up." Dmitri nudged Serena's shoulder and smirked. "Someone has to take care of her."

"I can take care of myself just fine, thanks." Serena turned her nose up towards the sky and stood up. "I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to head inside. Sara, want to talk a little bit before we fall asleep?"

"Sounds good to me." She stood up and kissed Mickey on the forehead. "Goodnight, Mickey. I love you."

"Goodnight sis, sleep well." He smiled up at her and watched as the two girls made their way back inside. He finished his beer and looked back at Dmitri. "You know, one day, we both have to let go of our sisters. I know it's hard to think about, but it must be done."

"I know. I just worry about her. I don't want her getting hurt again."

"You can't control that. Besides, you should find someone to settle down with."

"If you say so. Although, a relationship would be nice. Why, do you have your eye on someone?"

Mickey blushed and nod his head. "Yeah. I do."

"And you too, Emil? There's got to be some gorgeous girls back where you live."

"Ah- I guess so.." He looked away and rubbed his neck.

"Well, it's not like it's a bad suggestion. I'll keep an open mind. But right now, I'm here to protect Serena and help her dreams come true." Dmitri stood up and looked down at Emil and Mickey. "I'm going to bed. Tomorrow, we can go sightseeing. I hope you two are okay with that.""

"Sounds like a plan. We'll head inside in a bit." Mickey finished his beer up and tossed it into the fire pit.

"Suit yourselves. Goodnight you two."

As soon as Dmitri was out of sight, Mickey slid his hand on top of Emil's. "So. We're alone."

"Yeah. We are." Emil grinned at Mickey and noticed that there was a soft blush spread across Mickey's olive toned skin. He brushed Mickey's cheek with his hand. "You're blushing."

"And?" Mickey looked away and then back at Emil.

"It's really cute."

"If you say so."

"I do." Emil looked up at the sky and took Mickey's hand in his. "It's gorgeous out tonight. I can't believe we're already on night two of our vacation. Only two more nights and then we have to go our separate ways until we see each other again."

"Well, it won't be that way forever. I can promise you that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It gets lonely without you hovering over my shoulder." He smirked and began to laugh when Emil's smile faded into a frown.

"Ouch."

"Oh, don't take it personally. I was just kidding. Although, it really does get lonely without you around. Maybe I feel that way now because we're officially dating and I don't want to go home without you."

"Mickey.."

"I know, it's too sweet. I'm sorry."

"No. It made me feel wanted."

"Well, you are. Don't ever forget it, okay?"

"I won't." He stood up and pulled Mickey up with him. "We should both go inside. It's getting colder."

"Yeah, and the fire is dying down so it isn't exactly helping us."

"Mmmhmm. Come on." Emil laced his fingers with Mickey's and led him inside. They crept up the stairs and to the guest bedroom. Once inside, Emil locked the door and turned to face the bed. Mickey flopped down onto the bed and turned to face Emil.

"This bed is super comfortable. Did you sleep well last night?"

"I did." Emil walked over to his side of the bed and tried to sneak something from under his pillow.

"Emil, what are you doing?" Mickey laughed and reached out for his hand. Emil snapped his hand back and shoved the book behind his back.

"Nothing, I'm just fluffing my pillow."

"You're a terrible liar. Come on, babe. What are you hiding?" Mickey frowned and sat up.

"I promise you, it's nothing serious-"

"You're acting like it is." He placed his hand on Emil's side and craned around him. "What's…this? A book?" Mickey took the book from Emil's hands. He looked down at the book and looked up at Emil. "Is this an Italian lesson book?"

"Yeah… I was hoping to learn a little bit before you caught me in the act. "

"Emil, I don't know what to say." Mickey hugged onto Emil and then pulled away. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." He took Emil's hands into his. "Grazie Mille."

"Prego." Emil blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That was pretty good. I think you'll do just fine." Mickey led him back to the guest bed and pulled Emil along with him. "Want to practice a little?"

"I-Sure! That would be fun."

"Fun for you, maybe. I'm not that great of a teacher."

"Well, I'll still learn something! And honestly, that's what I want. I want to be able to speak to you in your native language."

"Alright, well I'll make a deal with you. If I teach you Italian, you have to help me learn Czech."

"Okay! It will be fun, but it will be challenging."

"Well, let's work on Italian for a bit. Hmm.. what's something that I could teach you. Oh. Il mio cuore è tuo."

"Ill mio cuoree è tuo."

Mickey shook his head and brushed Emil's hair back with his right hand. "Don't put so much emphasis on cuore. It's just cuore."

Emil nodded and tried again. "Ill mio cuore è tuo."

"Very good. Much better." Mickey chuckled and stroked Emil's stubbly cheek.

"Grazie. What does it mean?"

"It means 'My heart is yours'. I hope that isn't too sappy or weird, it's just what I felt like saying at the time."

"Ahh! You have my heart, too!"

"Haha, I know. You sure are happy about learning."

"Well, yeah. I'm more happy that you're helping me. And it wasn't sappy at all. It made me feel good."

"I'm glad. I just want to make you feel good."

"You always make me feel good. But hearing you speak in Italian.." Emil grinned widely and blushed. "It does things to me." He looked away from Mickey with a short laugh.

"Oh it does, does it?"

"Yeah. I really like Italian. It's a beautiful language."

"How about you say something to me in Czech?"

Emil snapped his head back to focus on Mickey's eyes. "R-Really?!"

"Yeah. I've heard you say a few things, and that was under your breath or when you were pouting at something. Come on. Give me your best shot." Mickey smirked and sat back against the head board.

Emil gave a quick nod and stroked his chin. "Hmm." He smirked at his boyfriend and leaned in next to his right side. He paused before whispering in his ear.

"Chci vás tlačit proti této čelo."

Mickey inhaled sharply through his teeth. He could feel his heart skip a beat and his stomach do flips. "Why do I get the feeling that whatever you said was meant to be taken in a dirty way?"

"Ha, guilty." Emil pulled away and smiled. "Did you like it, at least?"

"Yeah. It's really hot. What does it mean?"

"If I tell you, you can't judge me. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just tell me."

"I said: 'I want to push you against this headboard'."

"Ah, I knew it sounded seducing for a moment." Mickey smirked and grabbed onto Emil's tshirt collar and pulled him close. "Ho bisogno di te.."

"Oh, let me guess.. You need a kiss?"

"I need more than that.." He breathed into his ear. "I said: 'I need you'."

"Mickey.." Emil grabbed onto his wrists and pinned him against the headboard. "Nech mě milovat tě, Mickey."

"Haaaah." Mickey exhaled roughly as he became lost in Emil's eyes. "What did you just say?"

"Let me love you, Mickey."

"Tell me more." He breathed heavily and let his eyelids droop half shut.

"Ach? Cítí se někdo horké? Postarám se o vás."

"It's so mesmerizing to hear you speak, even though I don't know what you're saying." He moaned and bit his lower lip.

Emil chuckled and begin to nip at his neck. "I asked if someone was feeling hot, and that I would fix it."

"Well, then you better get to it." Michele sat up on his knees and stroked his boyfriend's scruffed face.

Emil nodded and began to blush deeply. "Just don't judge me, okay? I have never done anything like this."

"Neither have I."

"Well, that's something for us to build off of." Emil smirked and unzipped Mickey's track jacket. "Mm Michele.. Vaše kůže je tak nádherné."

A soft moan escaped Mickey's lips as he pressed them together. It was going to be hard keeping quiet, so he hoped that everyone was fast asleep. "Emil.." Mickey began to pant as Emil's lips kissed down his chest and to his lower abdomen.

"Hmm. These are in the way.." Emil frowned and tugged at the hem of his pants.

"Then take them off."

"Right. I was getting to that." Emil unbuttoned the top button and zipped the zipper all the way down before he began to pull his boyfriend's pants down to the plush bedding below them. He saw that Mickey was wearing a pair of black silk boxers, and was fully erect. Emil looked up at him and licked his lips. "I don't even have to remove your boxers to tell that you are hung like an Italian sausage."

"Jesus, Emil!" Mickey covered his face quickly and shook his head.

"Aha, sorry I guess I made someone a little embarrassed. It's alright, Mickey. Don't be shy." Emil wrapped his fingers around the elastic waistband of Mickey's boxers, and slowly pulled them down. He leaned closer and wrapped his right hand around Mickey's thick erection. "You're so big.." He gasped before leaning forward and flicking his tongue against the tip. Mickey tangled his fingers in Emil's hair and began to whimper.

"E-Emil...quello mi piace molto.. C-Cazzo!" Mickey bit onto his hand as his breath became more labored. Emil looked up at him and slid half of his cock in his mouth. He began to bob his head faster to keep up with Mickey's moans. "M'attizzi. M'attizzi!"

Emil pulled Mickey's erection from his mouth and wrapped his fingers around the base. "Sounds like someone likes it.."

"That's an understatement. Emil.. ti voglio."

"What does that mean?" Emil grinned as he began to slowly run his hand up and down his boyfriend's cock.

"It means 'I want you.' Please. Take me."

"Okay. But first, why don't you undress me?"

"M-me? Alright." Mickey pulled Emil's shirt over his head and ran his hand down his chest. "Your skin is so soft."

"Thanks. I try to take care of myself."

"You do a great job at it." He ran his hand down to Emil's waistband and fumbled with the button and zipper before successfully removing his boyfriend's jeans. "You're huge!" Mickey gulped as he could see the outline of Emil's erection through his boxer briefs.

"Czech boys are normally blessed. Well, at least I am. I don't mean to brag."

"It's okay to in this situation. This.. this is going to hurt."

"I won't let it. Hold on." Emil stood up from the bed and walked over to his suit case. "I came prepared."

"Y-You came prepared?!"

"Yeah. I told you, Mickey, I've always had very strong feelings for you. I got these hoping that I could use them with you. I hope that isn't creepy." He pulled out a small box and brought it back to the bed. He opened it up and pulled out a golden wrapped condom and a bottle of lubricant.

"I-Its not. I just, I can't believe that you've always felt this way towards me."

"Of course. You're very handsome. You bring out the naughtiest fantasies in me."

"Emil.."

"Hmm?"

"I want to continue. Please." Mickey let out a shakey breath and laid back onto the bed. "I want you to love me."

"But I already do love you, Mickey.." Emil reached over and stroked his face.

"No. I mean that I want you to make love to me."

"Alright." Emil opened the wrapper and pulled the condom out. "These things aren't so bad." He slid it on and sat up on the bed. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes. Are you?"

"Of course." He kissed Mickey's jaw and opened the bottle of lube. "It might hurt at first, but I'll make sure to make it enjoyable for you."

"You've made it enjoyable so far. I almost came."

"Ah ah, not yet." Emil took Mickey's legs into his hands and lifted them up to position himself comfortably. He ran the head of his dick against Mickey's opening and heard him gasp.

"E-Emil.."

"I'll go slow." Emil slowly began to enter as Mickey inhaled sharply through his teeth. "Oh god.. Mickey.." He moaned softly as he fully entered. "Jsi tak těsný!"

"Si! Emil! Quello mi piace molto!" Mickey moaned loudly. Emil slid his right hand over Mickey's mouth and leaned forward next to his ear.

"That sounds really hot, but we don't want anyone to hear, do we?"

Mickey shook his head as Emil began to quicken the pace. He wrapped his arms around Emil's torso and pulled him closer. "Più duro! Più veloce!"

"Hmm what does that mean?" Emil sat up and held Mickey's legs up. He began to kiss his calves as Mickey began to speak with a shakey voice.

"I-It means harder.. and faster."

"You're so bad, Mickey. Alright. I feel like if I keep going, I'll cum soon!"

"Yes! Emil!" Mickey reached down and took his own cock in his hands. He began to pump his hand quickly as Emil quickened his pace.

"M-Mickey! Budu vás zasytí! Už jdu! Ahh! I'm coming!" Emil pulled out and ripped his condom off before showering his boyfriend in his seed. Mickey began to moan as he finished up with Emil.

"That.. Emil.."

"Hm?"

"That was incredible." Mickey pulled Emil next to him and wrapped his arms around his naked torso.

"It was." Emil blushed and kissed Mickey's forehead. "It felt better than I imagined. I'm sorry I didn't last long."

"Don't be sorry. Neither of us lasted that long because you're really good at what you do. I'm so happy you're mine. For more ways than one."

"Aw, Mickey. I'm glad you're mine, too." He took Mickey's right hand into his and intertwined their fingers. "Next time, you can show me what you got."

"That's a solid deal." Mickey pulled the blankets over both of them and caressed Emil's cheek. "We should get some sleep. Dmitri was talking about all of us driving to Rome for the day when him and I were at the store. I'd love to show you around. Maybe you and I could split off and do some romantic sight seeing."

"I'd love that."

"Good. Goodnight, Emil."

"Goodnight, Mickey. Sweet dreams."

"Today was such a long day. It was a good day, but I am exhausted."

"It was a good day. Sorry I didn't practice with you, I promise I will before we leave."

"It's okay, I wasn't upset. But, i will take you up on that offer again."

"Absolutely! So, are you excited to compete again? I mean, I know I probably asked you before, but tell me again."

"I mean, I guess I am." Serena brushed her hair out and tied it up in a braid before laying back onto her bed. "I'm not excited about the unwanted attention."

"There will always be that. People will always be jerks and there will always be players."

"It's not that. I'm not looking for fame or for cameras in my face. I just want to win so I can keep this place."

"I think I know how you feel."

"Thanks. It means a lot." Serena smiled weakly down at Sara. She flipped over on her stomach and looked up.

"Are you okay? You haven't been the same this time around."

"I'm sorry. You know I have a lot on my mind."

"I know you do. And I'm here, Serena. Everyone is. Mickey, Emil, Dmitri."

""What if I said that Dmitri is part of the problem?"

"Huh? What is he doing? Tell me and I will make sure to say something-"

"No no! You don't have to do that. He just makes me feel so small at times." Serena grabbed a heart shaped pillow from the floor and hugged onto it. "I feel suffocated. He's always around me. He's always there putting in his opinion on things. But, I'm not mad at him. I could never be mad at him. He doesn't understand how this is making me feel."

"Then you need to talk to him about it."

"I can't. Not before we begin to compete again."

"Serena, it isn't healthy for either one of you! Look, I understand where you are coming from. Mickey does the same things as far as always being near me and feeling suffocated, but Mickey wouldn't ever want me to feel bad about the things he has said."

"I know I need to. And I plan on it. But right now, I need him more than ever right now. I couldn't ever picture any moment without him by my side. I'm so scared I may push him away and then he won't support me."

"He'll support you, and you won't push him away. What exactly does he say to you?"

"Things like: 'You can't do it without me.' And junk like that. I want to feel confident about competing. I want to win gold and bring home enough money to take over this place. But, how can I do that if my own brother won't even believe in me?"

"He believes in you. We all do."

"If you say so." She sighed and covered her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sara. These past two days have been a total blur. I hope you aren't upset."

"I could never be upset at you! You're one of my greatest friends, and I know you've had it rough these past few days. I want you to know that none of us want to see your fail. We all want to see you bring home gold. Even me! And I'll be competing against you." She smiled and reached up to stroke her arm. "Just because we have twin brothers doesn't mean that we can't live our own lives. I know what you're going through. One day, you'll find a wonderful man who will marry you and bless you with a beautiful family. Just like the same thing will happen to me.

"Thank you, Sara. That means a lot. It really does." Serena yawned and reached over to turn the lamp off. "We should get to bed. Dmitri probably has something big planned for us tomorrow."

"Sounds good. Just try to relax. You're going to do great. Goodnight, Serena."

"Night Sara."

Notes:

My Czech is pretty rusty, so please do not judge ; U ; Special thanks to my best dude for helping me with Italian translations and such 3

Vaše kůže je tak nádherné : Your skin is so gorgeous.

jsi tak těsný: You're so tight

Budu vás zasytí! Už jdu!: I'm going to fill you up! I'm coming!

quello mi piace molto.. C-Cazzo!: I like that a lot... Fuck!

M'attzzi: You turn me on

Più duro! Più veloce! : Harder! Faster!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Serena? Hey. Are you two up?" Dmitri knocked at Serena's door and made his way inside. His sister and Sara were still asleep. He sighed and shook his head. "I figured she would have set an alarm or something." He muttered as he walked over to Serena's bedside. "Hey. Wake up. It's time to start our day."

"Mmm.. what time is it..?" Serena reached for her cellphone and turned her backscreen on. "It's 8:00 AM. Not this early!"

"Yes, this early. We're going to Rome today."

"That's quite the trip." Serena sighed and sat up in bed. "Fine. I'm up."

"And I'm up, too. Since you both were talking so loud." Sara groaned as she sat up. "Sorry. I get very grumpy in the morning."

"It's alright. Your brother and Emil are already downstairs and making breakfast for us all."

"Aw, that's nice of them." Serena grinned and watched her brother walk towards the door.

"Don't take too long, okay? It's going to be a bit of a drive." Dmitri walked out and shut the door behind him. Serena stood up and walked over to her closet.

"I think I'm going to take a shower and freshen up. Let Mickey know that I want some tea with my breakfast." Sara rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out her clothes for the day.

"Will do." Serena grabbed a violet skirt and a lavender shaded sweater out of her closet. She grabbed her phone and began to play her favorite playlist as she began to dress herself. She reached into one of her dresser drawers and pulled out a pair of white stockings and grabbed her black pumps from the closet. "I feel like being as tall as Dmitri today." She grabbed a lavender neckerchief and tied it neatly around her neck. "Alright. That's perfect." She turned towards her door and grabbed her white jacket as she walked out of her room.

As she began to make her way down the hall, she could hear the boys talking rather loudly in the kitchen. She made her way down the steps and walked in when her brother started to speak. He was showing his phone to Emil and Mickey.

"I never thought it would happen! The KING JJ himself is retiring!"

"That's a relief. He was a great skater, but his ego was a little too much." Emil looked inside each cabinet until he found a stack of plates.

"It's true. I'm sure he doesn't even mean to do it. It's just his personality." Mickey placed two slices of toast on each plate and turned back towards the oven. "Breakfast is almost done. Where are those crazy girls?"

"One of them is right here, and the other is in the shower. By the way, your sister wants tea with her breakfast."

"Haha, I figured as much. It's either tea of juice. It's always a guess. I would have guessed juice, though." Mickey poured a mug of hot water and began to look through the cabinets. "Ah, Earl Grey and Breakfast tea.. which one do you think she would want?"

"I'd go with Breakfast." Serena sat down at the table and looked at her brother. "So, who quit skating?"

"Jean Jacques Leroy!"

"I thought that's what you said." Serena frowned and looked down at the table. "He was one of my favorites."

"Yeah, all the girls like him. He's a handsome devil, as some call him."

"No one calls him that." Emil began to laugh as he sat down next to Serena.

"Shut it." Dmitri poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. "I've heard people call him that, alright?"

"Okay, okay. We get it." Mickey slid two pieces of Italian sausage and a small pile of scrambled eggs onto each plate and tossed the pan into the sink. "It's not a traditional Italian breakfast, but it's quick and will keep us full until we get to Rome."

"Mmm, Mickey! It smells amazing!" Sara walked in with her hair tied up in her towel. "I figured I could dry my hair in a few moments. For now, I want to eat!"

"Well, sit down. It's ready." Mickey grinned and followed Sara to the table and placed a plate in front of Serena and then Sara. "Alright men, ladies always get served first in my eyes, so you all can come grab yours."

"Yeah, yeah." Dmitri grabbed his plate and sat down on Serena's left side. He wasted no time digging into his food, while everyone else took their time. Everyone was quiet for a few moments, before Sara decided to spark up a group conversation.

"So, do you both have your music chosen for your routines? We only have a couple of weeks left until we all compete."

"I have mine, but Serena is super indecisive. I'll probably end up picking something out for her." Dmitri shoved his plate aside and smiled over at Mickey and Emil. "Thanks for breakfast, you two. That was great."

"You inhaled it. Are you sure you were able to taste and enjoy your food?" Emil took a bite of toast and stared over at Dmitri.

"I'm just a fast eater, that's all. Plus, daylight is burning. We need to hurry if we're going to make it by lunch time."

"Well, I'm all done." Serena grabbed her and Dmitri's plates, and took them to the sink. "Thanks for breakfast."

"But you only ate half of it. Are you feeling okay?" Mickey took a bite and began to chew before talking again. "It's not good for you to cut your breakfast in half."

"It's not that I want to. I usually can't eat too much for breakfast. It makes me feel sick."

"Well, as long as you're eating something." Sara smiled and grabbed her empty plate. "Alright. I've decided that I'm going to let my hair air dry. I don't feel like messing with a hair dryer right at the moment."

"Your hair will be dry before we reach Rome. I'm going to go grab my purse."

"Ooh, I need to grab mine as well! I'm coming with you!" She walked over to Serena, and the two of them retreated upstairs. Dmitri took a drink of his juice and sat the empty cup back down onto the table.

"I swear, it's almost as if 5 years ago never happened, huh?"

"Yeah, I was going to say that as well. Serena seems much more mature. She seems like she's handling things a lot better now, too." Emil stood up and grabbed his empty plate. Mickey followed him and began to clean the kitchen up.

"I agree. She seems like she's somewhat back to normal."

"Well, she isn't completely back to normal, but she's working on it."

"What about you, Dmitri? You seem like you've changed the most." Emil began to put away the clean dishes as he kept up with the conversation.

"How so?" Dmitri curled his nose and scoffed. "If I HAVE changed, it's been for the better."

"Well, you seem a lot more.."

"….A lot more what, Emil?"

"You're a lot harder headed now than you were back then."

"How so?"

"You kept a lot to yourself, and it was like Serena was the one who was in control of both of you. She was fearless, and always wanted the chance to shine. Now, it's like you two have changed places. She seems to think more before she acts."

"Haha, yeah right! She agreed to taking over the restaurant without thinking things through first."

"So? Wouldn't you do the same if you were in her shoes?" Mickey dried his hands off and turned to face Dmitri. "I know I would for Sara."

"I mean, I would, yeah-"

"Then don't tease her about it. She's your sister. She's always going to be your first best friend and the one that needs your support the most. Don't make her feel bad about what she has chosen to do. She'd never do the same to you."

"I know she wouldn't. I'm worried about her." He crossed his arms and looked out the kitchen window. "I want her to be fearless again. I want her to be able to live life on her own, but at the same time, I don't want to let her go."

"You aren't letting her go. You will both just be living your own lives. One day, something will come along and make it happen. She won't ever forget about you. Just like Sara would never forget me."

"I know." Dmitri walked towards the front door. "Are we ready to go? We need to start now if we're going to spend any time in Rome."

"Ah, yeah. We're ready. Oh, and it sounds like the girls are coming downstairs." Mickey followed Emil towards the front door. Within moments, Sara and Serena were outside with the guys.

"Alright, everyone load up." Dmitri unlocked his car and climbed into the driver seat. Serenity sat up front with her brother and their friends piled in the back. Mickey sat in the middle with his arm around Sara's shoulders, but kept on texting Emil about what he had planned as far as showing him around. As they all made their way towards Rome, they talked about their themes for this year's competitions, their goals, and their dreams. About halfway there, they all became quiet and focused on the music playing on the radio. Serena was almost asleep when her phone vibrated. She picked it up and noticed that she had a text message from Sara. Without hesitation, she turned her screen on and opened her messages.

 _"So, I didn't say anything last night, but I heard sounds coming from the guest bedroom. Did you hear them?"_

Serena thought back to the night before and looked down at her phone. She typed quickly and then sent the message.

 _"I thought I heard some squeaking."_

Moments later, she had another text from Sara.

 _"Maybe I'm crazy but.. I think Mickey and Emil are dating now."_

 _"What makes you think that?"_

 _"I'll tell you when we get to Rome. We're going to go shopping and we can talk about it. ;) Don't say anything, alright?"_

Serena looked up at her mirror in the sun visor and glanced back at her friend. Sara was looking at her with a wide smile on her face. Serena smiled and closed her eyes, hoping to catch a peaceful nap before they reached their destination. She drifted off to sleep in no time at all.

 _"Dmitri! Hey! Wake up! We need to get ready and go before we miss our flight!" Serena rushed into Dmitri's room and pulled the blinds up from his window. As the sun began to shine through, Dmitri groaned and rolled over on his stomach, placing his face into his pillow._

 _"5 more minutes."_

 _"Nonsense! Come on! Dad made us a special breakfast to see us off. Oh, I'm so excited to finally travel on our own!"_

 _"It's just a skating camp. We will only be gone for 2 weeks." Dmitri rolled over on his back and sat up._

 _"Yeah, but it's in Switzerland, which is not Italy!"_

 _"You're correct. It isn't."_

 _"Very funny, smart ass. I meant this is our first time traveling out of the country by ourselves!"_

 _"Well, get used to it. Once we go big, we will be traveling all over the world. And sometimes, we will even be apart from each other."_

 _"Ah, I don't want to think about it!" Serena sat down on Dmitri's bed and huffed a strand of hair away from her face. "Come on now. Have you packed already?"_

 _"Yes. You pestered me all day yesterday. I stayed up last night and packed while you went to bed."_

 _"Yeah, because I'm smart." Serena stuck her tongue out and stood up. "I'll meet you downstairs. Make sure you hurry up, okay?" She grinned and kissed her brother on the forehead._

 _"Will do. Don't eat all the biscotti with your espresso."_

 _"No promises."_

"Okay! It took us awhile but we're finally here." Dmitri parked his car on the side of the street and turned himself around to face the back seat. "Oh, and Emil.. be careful. Traffic is crazy around here and you don't want to get run over."

"I'm not dense, Dmitri. But thank you for being concerned." Emil smirked and stuck his tongue out. Dmitri laughed and faced forward again before turning off the car. Serena rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn before looking out the window.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Dmitri reached over and brushed a strand of hair away from Serena's face. "You slept for a good two hours."

"I did. Thank you." Serena got out of the car and reached her arms up towards the sky. Sara got out of the car and took Serena's hand.

"Come on! We can finally go shopping!" She tugged Serena towards the street shops as Dmitri began to follow them. He stopped and looked back at Michele and Emil.

"Hey, are you two coming or what?"

"Nah, I don't think Emil wants to spend his first trip to Rome inside shops. We'll meet back up here in a few hours, okay?"

"Alright. I have my cellphone, and I assume you have yours as well, so we'll just communicate that way." Dmitri turned back around and ran to catch up with his sister and Sara. Mickey turned to face Emil and grinned.

"It worked. Come on. What would you like to do first?"

"I'd love to sight see. Oh, and I want to ride a gondola with you!"

"Alright, we can do both of those things." Mickey took Emil's hand and lace his fingers with his. "Oh! But first.." He tugged Emil towards the street and looked both ways before crossing. "We're going to ride on that botticella."

"That what?"

"Botticella." Mickey walked up to a horse and carriage and began to speak to the man standing beside it. He reached into his wallet and pulled out payment before turning back to face Emil. "Come on. We're going to take a little tour around Rome to start." He took Emil's hand and helped him up into the carriage.

"Thank you. This is really awesome! I wish I could live here."

"No, you don't. Up north where Serena and Dmitri live is a little better. Not as many people. It's nice to come and visit, though."

"Well, I meant live in Italy all together."

"Oh?" Mickey draped his arm around Emil's back and pulled him closer. "Well, I'd like that a lot. But, we both need to focus on our skating."

"I know. After awhile, I want to skate with you. We can skate together and compete together."

"We could. Let's just take it one day at a time, okay?"

"Deal." Emil laid his head on Mickey's shoulder and looked around as the botticella pulled them around the streets of Rome. Mickey made sure to be a great tour guide and point out special places to Emil. After 30 minutes was up, they got off and began to walk up and down the streets. "So, do you know where we are and how to get back?"

"Mmmhmm. I've been to Rome a lot, so I know myself around. That's why I'm not worried about Sara and Serena shopping around."

"Well, Dmitri is with them, too."

"True." Mickey looked around and then stopped in front of a small pizza shop. "Are you hungry? We could grab some lunch!"

"I'd like that. Thank you, Mickey."

"No problem. I want you to have a good time."

"I always have a good time when I'm with you." Emil kissed Mickey and grinned as he pulled away. "You're so cute when you blush."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go eat, alright?"

Meanwhile…..

Sara and Serena walked up one of the busier streets in Rome to shop. They made sure to stop by each store that had something cute in the window. Dmitri decided that by the third shop, he wasn't fit to shop. He decided to hit up a small restaurant across the street for their booze menu while the two girls spent time together. They were 5 shops in when Serena thought it was appropriate to bring up the text message that she received in the car.

"So, about that text message." Serena looked through a rack of dresses and pulled out a lilac and sky blue laced cocktail dress.

"Ah! Yeah. So I think Mickey and Emil are finally dating. That, or they don't care that anyone can hear them having sex. Oh, by the way, that would look perfect on you."

"Wait, you think they're having sex?"

"There's no doubt I heard faint moans and squeaking. It was either them or Dmitri had someone sneak in through his bedroom window."

"Dmitri hasn't ever been into dating. He had that one girlfriend for 4 months and then she broke up with him. It broke his heart, so he doesn't want to deal with that again."

"Ah, wasn't that when he was 16?"

"Yeah. They didn't even spend that much time together. They saw each other at school." Serena threw the dress over her forearm and walked over to the shoes. She looked back and Sara was behind her.

"So, going on, we both know that Emil has always been attached to Mickey at the hip. Mickey says that they both consider each other rivals, but they're the best of friends. Don't you think that's odd?"

"I mean, not really. How do you feel about them dating?"

"It doesn't bother me. I want Mickey to be happy."

"That's really sweet." Serena smiled and looked back at the shoe rack. "Hm.. Oh! These should look good." She pulled down a pair of matching sky blue heels and looked at the size. "So, are you going to say something to him about it?" She walked over to a bench and slipped her shoes off. Sara sat next to her and looked up at the ceiling.

"Nope. He's a grown man, he can tell me when he wants to. If he wants to. But, if he can find someone to love, then so can I."

"You've always been able to." Serena slipped on the shoes and then slipped them back off. "Ah! A perfect fit."

"Yeah, I know. But Mickey would throw a temper tantrum. Now that he's seeing someone, then he can't play that card on me."

"He's still going to be protective. You know that."

"And that's okay. But he better not be too protective. I'll cut him out for a little bit."

"Ouch. Harsh."

"Hey, I can't live the way that I've been living for the rest of my life, Serena. And neither can you. I want you to find someone to love and take care of you for the rest of your life. As your best friend, that's my dream for you."

"I'll find someone. But as for now, I want to win. I have goals I want to accomplish before I get too deep." Serena stood up and walked to the register. "I'm all finished here. Did you see anything you like?"

"I do, but I want to save my money for a little bit. I already bought 3 pairs of shoes and 3 outfits."

"Yeah. This one's my first outfit. I was waiting until something caught my eye. We HAVE been shopping for a bit. Do you think we should take a break?"

"If you want to, we can. How about we go find Dmitri and grab something to eat? I'm starving!"

After a day in Rome, they all made it home safely, but were too tired to party or to even lounge around to talk. Dmitri told everyone goodnight, and hoarded himself in his room for the rest of the night. Serena and Sara were too busy watching videos of skaters, while Emil and Mickey were relaxing in the guest bedroom. They enjoyed each other's presence, and relaxed in each other's arms, until Mickey sat up and looked over at his lover.

"Hey. So, I think it's time that I tell Sara about us."

"Do you think she will be angry about it?" Emil frowned and hugged onto his pillow. "I want your family to accept us."

"They will. And even if they don't, it won't change the way I feel for you. Besides, I think Sara will understand more than my parents will. Something tells me that she already suspects something."

"Why do you say that?"

"I just feel like she does. She's my twin sister. We kind of share the same intuition."

"That's odd, but I understand. If you want to tell her, I support you doing so." Emil smiled brightly and hugged onto Mickey. "We only have one more day together."

"I know. We'll still see each other plenty. I promise. I'll come visit when competitions aren't happening, and you are more than welcome to come visit me any time you want."

"I plan on it."

"Good." Mickey planted a kiss onto Emil's soft lips and stood up from the bed. "Okay. I'm going to pull Sara aside and tell her."

"Don't you think it's a little late? They're probably asleep."

"I just heard them giggling about something. I promise, it won't take long. I feel like I need to do this. If I don't, it's going to bother me until I do tell her. It'll be okay." He grabbed Emil's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before walking out of the room and over to Serena's. He took a deep breath and tapped on the door. Moments later, Serena opened the door and looked back at Sara.

"Hey, let me guess.. we're being too loud?" Serena grinned and walked back over to her bed.

"No, you both are okay. Can I borrow Sara for a moment? There's something I need to talk to her about."

"Sure. She's all yours." Serena flopped back onto her bed and watched as Sara walked out of the room with Mickey. She followed closely behind him as he led her downstairs to the den.

"Mickey? Did I do something wrong? Why do you need to talk to me?"

"Nothing's wrong." He took her hand and sat down on the plush sofa. "I just feel like I need to tell you a couple of things."

"Okay…" Sara blinked and watched as her brother became to fidget in his seat.

"Sara, I really hope you don't judge me-"

"Why would I judge you? Did you murder someone?"

"Huh? No!"

"Then why would I judge you?"

"Because Sara…" He took a deep breath and exhaled roughly. "I'm gay."

"Okay? Is that it?"

"Is that it? Sara, I just came out to you, and that's what you have to say?" He was confused, but felt a little relief as she began to giggle.

"Yeah! There's nothing wrong with your sexuality, Mickey. It's natural, and if that's how you feel, then I support you 100%"

"Really? Sara, that means so much to me!" He embraced her tightly and began to tear up. "I was afraid that you would disown me."

"I couldn't disown you, even if I tried. You're my brother, and I love you."

"Thank you, Sara."

"So, is that what you wanted to say to me?"

"Yeah, that and, I'm dating someone."

"Well, of course you are! If you weren't, I don't think you would come out to me so easily!"

"It's Emil."

Sara grinned widely and nodded her head. "I knew it!"

"You did?"

"Yeah. You two have been spending more time with each other, and you two are sharing a bed together."

"What does us sharing a bed have to do with anything? You've shared a bed with Serena before."

"Yeah, but Serena is my friend, and not my lover." She winked playfully and stood up. "I'm happy for you both. Emil's a great guy, and I can tell how much he really cares for you."

"He is a great guy. Thanks for supporting us."

"Anytime. Now, we just have to tell Mom and Dad."

"Yeah, that's the part I'm afraid of."

"Don't be. They both love us very much. That, and we are adults now. They can't control our lives or who we love. No matter what, I want you to be happy with Emil and live your life."

"I will, trust me."

"And, since you're in a relationship, that means I can date, too!"

"I never said that!" Mickey stood up and followed her as she walked back towards the staircase.

"No, you didn't. But if you can be happy, can't I be happy?"

"Yeah. You can. But no one is to ever hurt my sister."

"And no one is to hurt my brother. And I know that won't happen, because Emil is head over heels for you. I promise, Mickey, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can. But, that won't stop me from being a brother."

"And that's okay." She hugged him tightly. "I love you, Mickey. You're the best brother a girl could have."

"I love you too, Sara. You and Emil keep me stable."

"I know we do." She took his hand and led him back upstairs. "Come on. We should all get some sleep." She stopped in front of Serena's door and looked back at Mickey before walking in. "Goodnight. Sleep well, alright?"

"You too, sis. Goodnight." Mickey closed the bedroom door and made his way back to the guest bedroom. He walked in and shut the door behind him. Emil looked up from his cellphone.

"Hey! Did everything go okay?"

"Yeah. It did." Mickey sat next to Emil and laid his head on his shoulder. "I feel so much better now that I told her."

"Good. I'm glad. So, I take it she accepts us?"

"Of course she does. She says you're a good guy, and well, you really are. If you weren't, I don't think I would date you."

"Aww. That's sweet, Mickey."

"However, now Sara thinks she needs to date."

"Well, she IS an adult now, Mickey. She is able to see other people."

"I know she is." He sighed and flopped onto his back. "I just don't trust a lot of people. What happens if someone hurts her? Or takes advantage of her?"

"You can't worry about that, Mickey. I know for sure that Sara would never get with just anyone. She's a smart girl, and she has dreams of having her own family one day. Don't you?"

"Of course! I mean, I know it's too early to talk about it, but I do think about it."

"I do, too." Emil laid down next to Mickey and brushed his hand through his lover's chestnut hair. "But for now, I just want to enjoy the moments I have with you."

"Same here. We have our whole lives." He laced his fingers with Emil's and kissed the back of his hand. "But first, I want to see us win some gold."

"And we will. No matter who comes up on top, just know that I am proud of what you do. You motivate me to become better."

"Well, funny you should say that, because you motivate me as well. So does Sara, but your motivation means something different to me."

"Something different?"

"Yeah. I feel your encouragement each time I go onto the rink. Whether you are there or not, I can hear you cheering me on from the stands. It means a lot to me."

"I'm glad it does." He yawned and turned over on his side. "I'm getting sleepy. We had a pretty big day."

"We did. And it was absolutely perfect." Emil wrapped his arms around Mickey and pulled him close. "I never wanted this day to end."

"The day may end, but we will have other perfect days. I promise. Tomorrow, you and I can go drive around and I can show you the Italian country side."

"I'd love that. Goodnight, Mickey. And thank you so much for being good to me."

"Anytime. Thank you for not giving up on me."

"I could never do such a thing, Mickey."

Editor's notes: Thank you all so much for the support and kind words! Although this chapter came a little slow, I am in the process of chapter 6! With work and school, I am still finding time to write 3 Please enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _"_ _Forgive me for not writing much, but I have had time to reflect on my inner happiness for the past few days with the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for. I'm distraught that it is coming to an end, though I must move on and prepare myself to compete again. I must stay strong, and keep with my goal. I feel like I only have a couple of people on my side, and my brother is not one of them. At least he's kind enough to help me out. Forgive me if that didn't sound sarcastic enough through reading._

 _Until next time._

Serena shut her journal and shoved it into her bedside table. Sara walked in while drying her hair with a towel, and sat down on the end of Serena's bed.

"I'm going to miss you so much. I don't want you to leave."

"I know. I don't want to leave, either. But, at least you're only a 4 hour drive away."

"This is true. I'm sorry we don't see each other as often as we should."

"Hey, I understand that you're just getting back to normal. It's okay." Sara stood up and hung the damp towel on the door knob. "Everyone's so proud of you. Please remember, we're all here for you. Besides, the only way to go now is forward. You'll do great, and your dreams will come true. Oh, and you'll even find a guy and even get married! I better be your Maid of Honor."

"Huh? You're thinking too far ahead, but yeah. Okay." Serena pulled her hair back into a bun and tied a green ribbon around.

"Well, it's not bad to think ahead. I want the same thing. Do you think I will ever get that wish?"

"Of course. You're beautiful." Serena smiled and took her friend's hand.

"You are too!" Sara smiled back and then looked down. "I don't know if Mickey will allow me."

"He will. He can't hold onto you forever. Besides, he just started dating Emil. Give it time."

"Yeah. I'm jealous, though."

"Why?"

"Mickey lost his virginity before me." Sara crossed her arms and huffed.

"So? Your time will come."

"You're right. It will. Maybe sooner than later." Sara grinned and took Serena's hand. "Come on, we should pack."

"You're right, it's already 2." Serena looked at her phone and then shoved it into her purse. "Have you talked to your brother yet today?"

"No. The room has been shut all day with a tie around the doorknob. I don't know exactly what it means, but, I think they are saying their goodbyes early."

"Probably." Serena laughed and followed Sara out to their car. "Dmitri and I are probably going to follow you guys to the airport. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. We're happy that you're seeing us off. Well, Emil's flying home, we're driving. We have a long trip ahead of us."

"It's my last few moments with you all until we see each other at competitions. It's going to be hard parting from you all, but we all need to train hard."

"Agreed."

Meanwhile…

"I don't want to let you go, Emil." Mickey kissed up Emil's neck and began to nip at his earlobe. "Promise me you'll come see me after the Swiss qualifiers?"

"M-Mickey.." His breath was shaky as he wrapped his digits around Mickey's hand, joining his motion. As their hands slid up and down, Emil let out soft moans with each thrust. "I-I want to come back. I don't want to leave."

"I know. I don't want you to leave, either." Mickey kissed back down to Emil's neck and began to gently suck.

"Mickey! If you leave marks, someone will see-"

"Sooo?" Mickey faced Emil and smirked. "Don't you like it?"

"I do. I don't want it to end."

"Then.. how about we make love?" Mickey laid Emil down as he kissed back onto the spot where he was nipping before.

"Right now? But my flight leaves in an hour and 15 minutes-"

"Then let's spend these moments together. How about I do you this time?" Mickey reached for the bottle of lubricant and the box of condoms on the bedside table. "Is that okay?"

"Mickey… yes. Please.. I feel like I'm going to cum.."

"Already?" Mickey began to pout as he quickly unwrapped the condom and slipped it on.

"Can you blame me? My lover is a sex god." He panted as he watched Mickey position himself in between his hips.

"A sex god, huh? That's a nice complement." He rubbed against Emil and pressed up against him slowly, making his way inside.

"M-Michele! Ach můj bože! Jste v're tak velká!" Emil buried his face into a pillow and let out loud moans as Mickey began to gently thrust.

"Hahh what-what does that mean?" Mickey panted as he reached around and grabbed onto Emil's cock.

"I said you were big! I-It feels good! I'm going to cum soon, Mickey!"

"I am, too. He took Emil's hip with his left hand and continued to pump his right hand up and down on Emil's throbbing cock. He stopped thrusting and bit his lower lip. "Emil!" he continued to pump his hand as he tried to stifle his moans.

"Mickey! I'm coming!" Emil grabbed onto a nearby pillow and buried his face as he began to moan Mickey's name. He sat up after a moment and tried to catch his breath.

"You okay?" Mickey laughed and brushed a strand of hair away from Emil's face. "You sounded like you enjoyed it."

"I did. Very much so. I hope no one heard us."

"I don't think they did. I think they are packing the car up. We did drink quite a bit last night, so all of us must have slept in late."

"I told myself I wasn't going to drink that much ever again, but I did."

"You didn't get sick. You had a good time. Although, you pretty much made our relationship known."

"I think everyone knew except for Dmitri. You told Sara, and she told Serena. I'm sure of that."

"Are you sure YOU didn't tell Serena?" Mickey smirked and slipped his tshirt on. "I know you both are really good friends. It's okay if you did."

"I told her that I liked you." Emil slipped his clothes on and looked into the mirror as he began to run his fingers through his hair.

"And? How did she react?"

"She was happy for us, of course." Emil walked over to the bed and grabbed onto Mickey's right hand. "Come on. We're making everyone wait."

"Alright. I don't know if I'm ready to part with you."

"Me either, sweetheart."

After everyone was packed up, Dmitri and Serena followed the Crispino twins to the airport to see off Emil. As soon as they got there, they waited for Emil to check in his luggage while Mickey, Sara and Dmitri went to grab coffee. Serena waited towards the security gate, and watched as Emil approached her with empty arms.

"Well, I'm all checked in." Emil sighed and looked back towards the food court.

"That was quick. They just left to get coffee. Mickey said he was going to surprise you with something."

"That's really sweet of him. Thanks for hanging behind for me."

"Of course. I'm going to miss you so much! We've become closer as friends this vacation, and I couldn't be happier. I feel like I'm breaking out of my shell a bit."

"I'm going to miss you too, Serena. Thanks for taking care of my drunk ass and being supportive with Mickey and I."

"Of course! You two are amazing together."

"I know. I'm going to miss him so much.."

"I know you will. It will be okay, I promise. You have Skype and a cellphone, yeah?"

"I do. I plan on talking to him every moment I can. I can't get enough of him. Oh, it looks like they are coming back with drinks. I better go say my goodbyes to Mickey. My flight boards in about 15 minutes "

"Right. Well, I'm glad you could make it! I hope you had a good time."

"I really did. Thank you for letting me stay with you guys."

"Anytime. You've always been a great friend of ours." Serena took out a sheet of paper and ripped off a strip. She wrote her phone number on it and handed it to Emil. "Here. I want to hear from you, okay?"

"You know Dmitri doesn't want guys texting you-"

"Too bad. Look, I know you're trying to be a good friend and respect what he wants, but you're also my friend. And, I consider you one of my best friends. Please promise that you'll keep up with me."

"I will." He grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, this is the first girl's number I have besides my mom's."

"I don't know if that's flattering or sad, but I'll go with flattering." Serena laughed and gave him a hug. "Take care of yourself. And go tell your man farewell!"

"Yeah, I'm working on that." Emil walked towards Mickey and pulled him aside. Serena walked towards a small table that was occupied by Dmitri and Sara. She sat down next to her best friend and looked back towards Emil and Mickey's direction.

"They're perfect together."

"They really are. I wonder what our parents will say?"

"Huh?" Dmitri looked up at Sara and then at Serena. "What's going on? How are they perfect together?"

"Dmitri, do you not remember last night at all? How Emil and my brother got completely wasted and started making out with each other in the kitchen?" Sara gasped and then began to laugh. "Wow! You really were wasted last night!"

"What? No! When the hell did that happen?!"

"Dmitri, you walked in and started cheering them on."

"I don't remember that at all. So, why are they cute together?"

"Jeez, you're slow, Dmitri! Mickey and Emil are dating now." Serena laughed and laid her head on her brother's shoulder.

"Really? Huh." Dmitri looked over at them and back. "No wonder they're always together."

"That's what Sara and I have been saying since we've met!" She sat back up and sipped on her coffee. "I need to thank Mickey for this. It's delicious.."

"Well, Emil used to like you. So, does he still like you?" Dmitri looked at Serena and propped his chin up with his right hand.

"Way to change the subject. He used to, but he's in love with Mickey. Someone can like males and females. Love is love."

"I know. I'm not criticizing anyone. I just always saw him determined to be near you."

"But he's always attempted to be near Mickey more than me. Think about that." Serena smiled and took another sip of her coffee.

"She's right. I hope I find love like theirs." Sara sighed and looked back at her friends.

"You will. We both will."

"Ehhh.. not too soon." Dmitri scoffed and shook his head. "Winning gold is our main priority. Everyone's priority."

"Yeah. Right." Sara looked over at Serena and frowned. She quickly changed the subject. "Hey, Promise me that you'll text me often and skype?"

"Of course. We always communicate. I'll never cut ties with my best friends. Please come see Dmitri and I soon, okay?"

"Duh! We're only a few hours away. I heard Mickey asking Emil to come back down after the Swiss Qualifiers. When are your parents going back on vacation?"

"Who knows. They saved up enough money to travel for the rest of their lives." Serena rolled her eyes. "Probably soon. Even if they are at home, they won't mind if we have our friends over. They honestly could care less."

"She's right, you know." Dmitri finished up his coffee and tossed it into the nearby trash bin.

Emil took Mickey's hand and led him over to a secluded corner after he noticed that everyone was watching them. "I can't believe it's already time to leave." he frowned and laced his hands with Mickey's. "At least you only have to drive back. Maybe next time I can see your home?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." He smiled up at Emil and kissed his jaw. "I did mean what I said earlier. I want to see you after qualifiers. I want to introduce you to my family. They're your family now too."

"Mickey." Emil quickly wiped his eyes and grinned. "I'm sorry. That just makes me really happy."

"Good. I'm going to miss you. I hope you know that."

"I know. I'll miss you, too. But, we still have each other's numbers, and we can skype and still keep in touch-"

"You act like we're breaking up. Relax. I'll see you soon, alright? Just trust me."

"Ah! Yeah. Of course!"

"You better get going, you're going to miss your flight."

"Right." Emil squeezed Mickey's hand and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you later, okay? Ciao." He turned away and began to walk towards security when Mickey grabbed his hand.

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

Mickey tugged Emil's scarf and pulled his face closer, placing a kiss on his lips. "You missed."

"Ah. Yeah." Emil blushed and began to grin like an idiot. "I'm going to miss those."

"Me too.. You'll get more than that when we see each other again. I'll see you soon, alright?"

"Of course. Bye Mickey." Emil began to walk towards security while looking back at his lover. Once he was out of sight, Mickey walked back to the table and tapped Sara on the shoulder.

"I-I think it's time for us to go home." Mickey's voice was weak, almost as if his emotions were getting the best of him.

"Alright.." Sara frowned and stood up. "Remember what we promised, okay?" She walked over to Serena and gave her a tight hug. "Hang in there. You're wonderful, and great things will happen."

"Thank you. I needed that." Serena hugged her best friend tightly and then let go. She moved over to Mickey and gave him a gentle hug. "I know it's hard parting from someone you really care about."

"Yeah. We'll see each other again. At least I have ways to communicate with him, huh?" Mickey broke the hug and smiled down at her.

"Sure do! I told Sara that you two must come back and visit soon."

"We will. But, we both need to get home and get packed for the qualifiers. You both need to do the same."

"Yeah, yeah." Dmitri stood up from the table and hugged his friend. "Hang in there. You know my number. It's great seeing you all again."

"We'll see each other soon." Mickey took Sara's hand and tugged her towards the exit. "Bye you two, and thanks for having us."

"Anytime." Dmitri wrapped his arm around Serena's shoulders and walked towards their car. "Just two days and we are off. Are you nervous?"

"Me? Nervous? No."

"You aren't convincing. You'll do fine. I promise."

"Thanks Dmitri."

"Anytime. Are you confident with the music choice you've chosen for your routine? You haven't practice the routine with music."

"I'm confident. You know how much I love music. Besides, you told me that I was allowed to choose my own music. I want something upbeat."

"Everything is normally upbeat in skating. I just think you should do something a little more.. classical."

"I have nothing against classical music when it comes to skating, I just think I should come back with a little more.."

"Enthusiasm? That's the Serena I remember." Dmitri took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm trying. I'm glad that it's showing, because I really miss skating. I just hope I don't run into any issues. Come on. We should get home before mom and dad do. That way, we can spend time with each other as a family. I don't think dad's opening up the restaurant this evening." Serena approached the car and looked over at her brother.

"That will be a nice change. A family dinner." Dmitri got into the driver side, as Serena got into the passenger side. She looked out the window and then looked forward.

"It looks as if it might storm. It's mid fall, I wonder why."

"Well, think of it as a good thing. We can go home and relax, and be with mom and dad. Besides, it could turn into snow. You know how much you like snow." Dmitri drove towards home while staying relaxed.

"I do like snow, however, I don't like it after a thunderstorm. I like to wake up to it."

"Well, we'll be in Switzerland in a couple of days. You'll get to see all the snow you want."

"I know. I'm really excited, too. I hope I get to see a fresh snowfall."

"I'm sure you will. So, do you want to cook dinner? We still have plenty of food to make."

"I'd love to. You know how I like to get creative."

"You know, one day, you're going to make your spouse very happy."

"Oh?" Serena grinned brightly over at her brother. "You said spouse.. so you WILL let me go one day!"

"Yeah. One day. Meaning, 15 years from now. Don't get too cocky."

"Okay. Deal." She faced forward and propped her feet up on the dashboard. "I have other goals to accomplish. Like, surpassing you in skating."

"Hey, feet off the dash." Dmitri nudged her knees. "And you know you can't surpass me. I'm the oldest."

"By a few minutes." Serena laughed and shook her head. "What difference does that make?"

"Well, it really makes no difference. Now that I think about it, we're both in different divisions."

"Uh huh. Well, you better also get gold."

"I will. I can promise you that."

Two days later…

 _It's the beginning of something beautiful. Thanks to the support I have received from my friends, I feel like I can do anything. I honestly hope this isn't me overreacting about everything. I won't make any mistakes this time. I must say, I am quite concerned about Dmitri's "Plan". He thinks we can both do this with no coach, and instead, coach each other._

 _I have this sinking feeling in my heart that his plan won't work as he hopes. As his twin sister, I support him, although his ideas are quite foolish. The worse that can happen is that one of us goes on to compete, and one of us stays home. No matter what, the sibling that goes on to compete must be me. I can't be in his shadow my whole life. Deep down, he's still the same brother he's always been. His jealousy gets the best of him, just like Mickey. Although Sara is tough enough to stand up to Mickey, I don't think I'm tough enough to stand up to Dmitri. I'm not afraid of him, I'm afraid of losing him forever._

 _Our flight boards in one hour. The people are beginning to pile into security. It's uncomfortably loud._

Serena closed her diary and looked up at the monitor. She nudged her brother and stashed her diary into her bag. "We need to start lining up inside Security."

"Right." Dmitri yawned and grabbed his bag. "I'm exhausted."

"I am, too. I didn't sleep."

"Me either. Stereotypical twin actions, or something like that." He shrugged.

Their mother and father sat up from their seats and began to say their goodbyes. Their mother was first with her usual lecture. "You two have a good time. Don't worry about us. Just go out there and do what you love to do. Don't give each other a hard time, okay?"

"They'll be fine, sweetheart. Come on, we need to get back so we can open the restaurant for dinner. Here. Take this and use it for food. No alcohol, understand?"

"Gotcha. Thanks Dad. Love you both." Dmitri hugged both of his parents and pulled away. Serena gave her mom a quick hug and then hugged her dad.

"Promise me that you'll remember why I'm doing this."

"I will, Serena. But I want you to have fun while doing it. You're my baby girl and I adore you and what makes you happy. I just don't want to see you end up in a bad place with debt from taking on this old place. However, I respect your wishes. Now, go have fun. You and I will talk more when you return."

"Thank you, daddy. I love you both! We'll see you in a few days!" Serena hugged her parents and followed Dmitri through security, and to their terminal. They were only waiting for a few moments before they boarded the plane and were preparing for take-off. Serena got situated in her seat and looked out the window.

"Just like when we were kids, you still love the window seat."

"Uh, yeah! The window seats are the best!"

"I can't disagree with you there. Looks like we're backing out from the terminal. We'll be in the air about 2 hours, so get comfortable."

"I plan on it." Serena watched out the window until the plane took off into the air. When they were up high enough, the lights in the airplane cabin dimmed, and Serena closed her eyes to prepare for a brief nap.

 _"_ _Wow! Dmitri! Look at how neat the city looks! It's so pretty!"_

 _"_ _It is pretty, isn't it?" Dmitri looked at his phone and then back at his sister. "It's just now 5 A.M., and registration for camp is in 3 hours. Hopefully we can get checked into our hotel room and grab some breakfast. It all depends on if the airport shuttle will be there when we arrive at the airport."_

 _"_ _I bet we'll have enough time. Look, we're beginning to land!"_

 _"_ _We are. The flight wasn't that bad, although I regret not getting more sleep."_

 _"_ _Same here. I couldn't sleep because I was so excited. I'm still super excited, but I know that I'll be nearly dead this evening."_

 _"_ _Well, at least we'll sleep good."_

 _"_ _Hey, Dmitri?"_

 _"_ _What's up?"_

 _"_ _Do you think we'll make some friends?"_

 _"_ _I don't see why we wouldn't. What? Am I not good enough?"_

 _"_ _You ARE. You're my brother, though. I want some other friends. The ones I have at school are nice, but I want friends that have the same love for ice skating like I do."_

 _"_ _I'm sure we'll both meet some cool people. Just try to relax for now, okay?"_

 _"_ _Alright." Serena sat back and waited patiently for the airplane to land. As soon as they were cleared to stand up and leave, they were both off the airplane in no time. They made their way down to baggage claim and scooped their belongings up before heading outside to the shuttle bus curb. They waited a minute before a shuttle pulled up to take them to their hotel. As they loaded up and drove to their hotel, they discussed what they both needed to improve on, and that they wouldn't let each other make a fool out of themselves._

 _"_ _Wow! This hotel is gorgeous!" Serena beamed as the shuttle pulled up outside of the hotel._

 _"_ _It is. It's huge. The ice rink is just up the road. About a 5 minute drive, I'd imagine."_

 _"_ _That's convenient." Serena led her brother out of the shuttle, and up to the check-in counter and gave the attendant their names. As she took the key cards from the attendant, she handed one to Dmitri and grinned "Look, we each get one!"_

 _"_ _You're awfully excited about that." Dmitri laughed and led his sister up to their hotel room._

 _"_ _Well, it just makes me feel kind of independent."_

 _"_ _Oh come on, I let you have independence."_

 _"_ _I know you do, but not often. It's not a bad thing! I just like having my own things, that's all."_

 _"_ _I know what you mean. Ah, room 306. Here we are." Dmitri stuck his key card into the door and turned the door handle. As soon as they walked in, Serena ran towards one of the beds and flopped down onto it. She rolled over onto her back and grinned up at her brother._

 _"_ _These beds are so comfy!"_

 _"_ _I can see that. Alright, we should probably get unpacked and go grab something to eat. Or, you can start unpacking and I can grab breakfast. They have free breakfast in the lobby kitchen."_

 _"_ _That sounds good to me." Serena sat up and began to dig through her gym bag. She pulled out her clothes and began to put them away. Dmitri grabbed one of the key cards and walked out the door. As soon as he was gone, Serena began to put Dmitri's clothes away. After a few moments of organizing, Dmitri was back with breakfast sausage, bacon and eggs._

 _"_ _Here, I figured some protein would be best. By the way, thanks for tidying up."_

 _"_ _Mmm, it looks delicious!" Serena took the paper plate from his hands and began to eat with the plastic cutlery that was included. She ate quickly and threw the utensils and plate away. "You're welcome. I mean, someone has to watch over you!"_

 _"_ _Jeez, you're going to make yourself sick if you eat that fast!"_

 _"_ _I'm sorry, I'm just excited."_

 _"_ _Well, we have about 30 minutes until we need to be at the rink, and they have shuttles here at all times to take anyone anywhere they need to go."_

 _"_ _Perfect! This is already starting to become a great camp!"_

 _"_ _You're so optimistic, so carefree." Dmitri grinned and sat down next to his sister as he finished his breakfast. "Alright. I think I'm done. Let me change into something else and I'll meet you out in the hallway."_

 _"_ _Perfect!" Serena slipped her shoes on and laced them up tight before slipping out the door._

"Hey, Wake up."

"Huh..?" Serena opened her eyes and looked around. "We're still up in the air.."

"Yeah, but we're about ready to land. You dozed off pretty quickly."

"I know. I didn't sleep well last night."

"You'll sleep good tonight. Tomorrow's our free skate, and then the next day is our main act, and then we see if we qualify."

"I'm so nervous, Dmitri. It's been so long. I know I've been doing a good job at being more confident, but the reality is starting to sink in. I'm actually doing this again. WE'RE actually doing this again."

"It's okay, Serena. We'll do this together. We always have."

"I know." Serena exhaled and looked out the window. "Northern Switzerland is so pretty. I love the snow."

"We get it occasionally, you know."

"I know, But, it's something about the lights from below that make it extra stunning."

"True." Dmitri leaned over her and peered out the window. "Are you nervous?"

"A little."

"Hey, me too." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in. "I'll take care of you."

"I know you will, but I don't need to be taken care of."

"Oh so grown-up. It's almost as if you changed."

"Why do you say that? Haven't you brought this up before?"

"I think I have. But, it's like as soon as you decided that you were going to take over, you became this headstrong person. You haven't been this way for a good-"

"5 years? Aren't you happy that I'm beginning to revert back to my 'normal' self?"

"I AM happy. Trust me. I just don't want your happiness to go away. That's all."

"Dmitri.." Serena laid her head on her brother's shoulder and closed her eyes. "You make me happy. My friends make me happy. Skating makes me happy. I could go on and on. I've just had enough with being caught inside a barrier that causes me to be depressed constantly. I think all I needed was to skate again."

"Same. Skating has always been therapeutic for both of us. We're landing now. Soon, we'll be able to go to the hotel room and sleep some more before we practice. It's only 5 AM. I still can't believe we had to take a 3 AM flight.. I'll never do that again."

"Thank goodness. I need a comfortable bed. Sleeping in a plane is not ideal." Serena groaned as she stretched her arms up. "Next time, we leave the day before so we can get situated in an extra day."

"Agreed. Anything for a good night's sleep."

As the plane landed, Dmitri and Serena gathered their carry-on items and prepared to exit. Dmitri took her hand and led Serena straight down to baggage claim, and then straight to their hotel via an airport shuttle. What was only 20 minutes to get registered into their hotel felt like hours to Serena. The only thing on her mind was sleep. Dmitri helped her tote their luggage to their room, and then wasted no time changing into his comfortable clothes.

"Go ahead and get comfortable. We have a few hours until we can go practice."

"Well, why can't we go in a little bit and get it over with?"

"Because a lot of people will be practicing in the afternoon. You know this."

"Yeah. Whatever." Serena flopped belly first onto her bed and snuggled into the plush pillows. "I'll see you when I wake up."

"Aren't you going to change into something more comfortable?"

"Nope."

 _"_ _Cmoooooon! We're going to be late for registration!" Serena whined as she leaned against the door frame._

 _"_ _Relax. Or, you can go down ahead of me."_

 _"_ _Fine. I might do just that." She slipped out of their hotel room and turned towards the hallway._

 _"_ _Hey, you're my neighbor for the next week!" She heard a male voice coming from behind her. She turned around and noticed a teenage boy around her height approach her. His appearance gave an impression of a nice guy, with a flawless complexion and sandy brown hair that was messy, in a stylish way. He held out his hand and grinned widely. "I'm Emil Nekola. It's nice to meet you, uh…"_

 _"_ _Serena. Serena Djangelo." Serena took his hand and shook it gently. He pulled away and blushed._

 _"_ _Your skin's really soft! Are you really an ice skater?"_

 _"_ _Yeah? Why?"_

 _"_ _Well, usually my hands get chapped, and well, I've heard it happening to other people." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to be awkward-"_

 _"_ _Hey, Emil, leave the poor girl alone! You're going to scare her off!" Another teenage boy walked out of the room next to Emil's and approached the sandy haired boy. "Sorry, he's really friendly, but-"_

 _"_ _Mickey! Nice of you to join us! This is Serena, she's rooming next to me!"_

 _"_ _I can see that." Mickey grinned at Serena and took her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."_

 _"_ _The pleasure's all mine." Serena grinned and watched a teenage girl walk out of the room that Mickey had just left._

 _"_ _Come on, we're going to be late, Mickey!" The female pouted and looked over towards Serena. "Oh! I'm so sorry, where are my manners? I didn't mean to create a scene. We haven't had a chance to meet yet!"_

 _"_ _It's alright, I was just leaving to get registered. My brother was taking too long getting ready-"_

 _"_ _Ah! I know how that is! I'm Sara Crispino. And this is my twin brother, Mickey."_

 _"_ _Oh! You're a twin, too?" Serena smiled brightly and looked at both Mickey and Sara._

 _"_ _Sure are. Always together."_

 _"_ _My brother and I can relate to that."_

 _"_ _Well, we should all get registered. Hey, after this, why don't we get something to eat and hang out? We're going to be neighbors for the next couple of weeks, and this is really my first skating event by myself, so.." Emil's voice trailed off as he looked at everyone._

 _"_ _Yeah, I'd like that. I'm in." Serena grinned._

 _"_ _Me too! Oh Mickey, can we?"_

 _"_ _Sure. And I assume your brother will be there as well?"_

 _"_ _I'll be sure to bring him along. Actually, here he comes now." Serena watched as Dmitri left the hotel room and walked over to the small group. "Dmitri! Come meet our new friends! They are our neighbors for the next couple of weeks."_

 _"_ _Oh, hi. Nice to meet you all." Dmitri waved to everyone. "I'm Dmitri."_

 _"_ _They know." Serena took his hand. We're all going to get together after our first practice and relax some. We were hoping you would join us, too."_

 _"_ _Sounds good to me. It'll be nice to hang out with other skaters. Are you all going to the rink right now?"_

 _"_ _Sure are. Are you both excited?" Sara looked over at Serena._

 _"_ _Yeah. This is our first camp by ourselves, so we hope to learn a lot from it before we compete this fall." Dmitri chimed in as he led everyone downstairs and outside to the shuttle stop._

"Serena. Hey, sis. Come on, wake up!" Dmitri shook Serena awake. She looked around and stretched her arms towards the ceiling.

"Mmm.. Dmitri. I'm getting up."

"I know. I can see that, now." He sat on the edge of her bed and watched as she began to get ready. "Did you sleep well?"

"As well as I could for being away from the comfort of my own home."

"It's good for you."

"I know, I know." She slipped on a comfortable track suit and laced up her sneakers before grabbing her gym bag and skates. "How long are we going to practice? I'm still exhausted."

"Only for about an hour. It's already 8:30."

"Huh?! Why didn't we get up sooner?!"

"Well, we both needed the rest. It will be good for our practice. Come on, we're wasting time." Dmitri stood up and grabbed his skates. Serena noticed that her brother was already fully dressed and waiting on her.

"Sorry, I'm not trying to take forever."

"It's okay. I can tell that you're nervous." He smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about what others think or if others watch you practice, okay? You've got this. You're an amazing skater and an even more amazing sister."

"Dmitri. Thanks." Serena exhaled gently and smiled brightly at her brother. "It pumps me up to hear you say things like that!"

"I know! That's why I say them!" He took her hand and led her out of their hotel room and straight for the arena. "Alright. So we need to work on your jumps more than anything. You need to transition into your jumps a little bit smoother, and land just as smooth." Dmitri stopped at the busy intersection across from the arena and looked over at Serena. "Anything else you aren't comfortable with?"

"The whole thing, to be honest."

"Huh? Why? Everyone thought it was great."

"Yeah, but my free performance is going to suck-"

"Hey, stop. You need to at least have SOME faith in my teaching styles."

"I do."

"Great. Okay, time to go." He took Serena's hand and led her across the street. "It's not as busy. Just as I thought." He opened the door and led her inside. The arena was 3 times larger than their home arena. There were 2 people on the ice, and at least 20 people in the audience.

"At least there aren't many people here.." Serena looked around and then back at her brother.

"Well, don't get used to it. Tomorrow there will be a full house, I bet."

"Don't remind me." Serena slipped her shoes off and laced her skates up quickly. "Alright. Let's get this over with. Let me warm up before you bark orders at me, okay?"

"Sure thing." Dmitri walked towards a secluded area and leaned up against the wall. "Give it all you got, okay?"

"Fine." Serena skated towards the side Dmitri was on and began to glide her way around. After a quick warm up, she looked over towards Dmitri and noticed that he wasn't paying attention to her. Instead, she noticed that a tall, black haired male was leaning up against the wall next to her brother, chatting up a storm. She sighed and continued to warm up with a few jumps.

'Way to just talk to strangers. You're supposed to be making sure I'm doing okay.' She landed a single axle and looked back to see her brother looking at her with a wide grin. She went for her triple lutz, and nearly landed it perfectly. If she could only clean up her landing. She looked up to see that Dmitri's smile had faded away, and turned into an expression of worry. The male was gone, so Serena decided to make her way over.

"Hey! That was a good jump! Although, that landing.." He sighed. "You're able to do it so well at home, how come you're having trouble today?"

"I'm nervous! Get off my back."

"I know you are. Relax. And I know that's easier said than done."

"You missed my other warm up jumps."

"I'm sorry. You'll never guess who I was just talking to-"

"They better have been important." She leaned against the wall and looked around. "Where did he go? He just disappeared."

"That was Jean-Jacques Leroy! He was commenting on your skating-"

"HUH?! DMITRI! WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME OVER!" Serena shrieked as she looked around. "You know how much I love him!"

"I didn't want to get you all worked up. Come on, you need to work on your triple Lutz."

"That wasn't really JJ." Serena threw her hands on her hips and sneered at him.

Dmitri pulled his phone out and handed it to Serena. "I told him you were a fan. He took a picture with me-"

"OH MY GOD, IT WAS HIM!" Serena felt her heart sink as she handed Dmitri his phone back. "I'll probably never see him again.."

"Oh come on, he said quite a few retired skaters are here. Maybe you'll get to meet a few of them."

"I want to meet JJ." Serena huffed as she pushed off the wall. "I'm going to practice the jumps a little more. And then we get to go back, right?"

"Yeah, fine. We both need to rest up."

"Aren't you going to practice?"

"I was planning on it, and then I was distracted by a skating celebrity." He laughed and slipped his skates on and met her on the ice. "Alright, practice your jumps and I'll warm up. Just relax and focus. You'll do great, I promise."

"Thank you, Dmitri." She parted from him and practiced her jumps while her brother warmed up. Instead of focusing on landing cleanly, she kept slipping her landings. Frustrated, she decided to go down to a double lutz.

"That one was perfect. Now, just add one more turn."

"I know, Dmitri. I'm sorry, I'm really frustrated about this."

"It's okay. Do you want to change the jump?"

"Should I?"

"I don't think it would be a bad idea. Sorry, sis."

"It's no problem." She shook her head and took Dmitri's hand. "I'm tired. And frustrated. Can we go back now?"

"Alright." He followed her back to the gate and over towards their gym bags. As soon as they were in their shoes, they made their way out of the arena.

"You're so lucky." Serena sighed as she looked around. "I wish I could meet him."

"Eh, Not really. I'm sure if I was practicing and you were watching, he would have done the same to you. Although, I would have stopped and came over."

"Oh, I know."

"The king is single and on the prowl."

"What did he say to you?"

"Nothing. Just commented on how your moves were fluid and I told him that I helped choreograph your routines and then told him how much you looked up to him. He took a picture with me and told me that he had to leave to turn in for the night. That's it."

"So why do you say he's on the prowl?"

"I mean, have you seen him? He's pretty good looking. He can have anyone he wants. You're gorgeous. I'm not taking my chances of leaving you alone, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, yeah. You're my older brother, I get it. Someday, you need to give me some freedom."

"Maybe someday. Let's take everything one day at a time, okay?"

"Sure."

"Good. Are you hungry at all? Mickey texted me and asked us if we wanted to meet up for dinner."

"That sounds like fun. What will we eat?"

"Hmm.. let's eat something warm. I wonder if they have any Thai food, or any Vietnamese. I could really go for some Pho right now. I don't know why I'm craving strange foods, I guess it's because we're out of our country."

"Could be." Serena pressed the button on the elevator, and entered when the doors opened. "So, do they know where we are rooming?"

"Yeah. I texted him the room number when we got our room key."

"Perfect." She sighed and stretched her arms up. "Can we get take out and just hang out around our room? I'm not feeling so great all of a sudden."

"Huh? Oh please, don't say you're getting sick.." Dmitri sighed and brushed his hand across her forehead. "Hm. You're not hot.. You always seem to get ill when you don't get enough sleep."

"I know. I just need to take care of myself and not go out. I think it's just traveling to a much colder place."

"Let's hope so. We don't want your performance to be hindered."

"I know."

The next morning…

Serena awoke before the alarm had a chance to sound. She turned it off and quietly nudged her brother in the bed next to hers. "Hey. It's time to get up."

"Ngh.. you aren't the alarm." He rolled over and threw his blankets over his head. "What time is it, anyways?"

"6:25. The alarm was set to go off in 5 minutes. What's the big deal?"

"Hey, those 5 minutes are precious." Dmitri groaned as he sat up in his bed. "Whatever. I'm up."

"Good. We don't have much time. We should have set the alarm for 6."

"Eh, I didn't think it was necessary at the time." He stood up out of bed and walked over to his suit case. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I feel fine. I think it was like I said."

"Good." He pulled out a two-piece performance suit that was black with gold shimmering wefts of fabric to give it class. "I haven't had the chance to wear this in quite some time. I'm pretty excited."

"I bet you are. I'm excited to wear mine.." Serena pulled her performance outfit out and walked over to the bathroom. "Black and gold, just like yours."

"It's to match, remember?" He grinned and slipped his shirt over his head before dressing in his outfit. Serena walked into the bathroom and quickly got dressed. She laced the gold ribbon around her waist and finished it into a bow on her lower back. As she began to dress her hair, she began to have vivid flashbacks of when her and Dmitri first debuted the outfits. She pulled her hair back into a bun and tied a matching black ribbon around it, creating a bow. She took a deep breath and walked out. Dmitri looked up from his cellphone.

"Wow! Serena, your outfit still fits perfectly!"

"If you say so." Serena slipped her track jacket on over her performance outfit and grabbed her gym bag and skates. "Do I look okay?"

"You look great. Now, come on. We should probably get downstairs and get registered."

"Give me a second, alright? I just need a few moments to myself. My anxiety is getting bad."

"Alright. I'll go grab us some coffee."

"Sounds wonderful. Thank you, Dmitri." Serena watched her brother walk out of their hotel room. She fell back onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. After a few moments, she sat up and walked over to the mirror. 'You're going to do great out there. Live your dream. You have so many people who support you.' She pushed herself away from the vanity and walked back over to her bed. Before she could sit back down, Dmitri came back through the door, holding two hot cups of coffee.

"Hey, you ready to go?"

Serena nodded and walked away from her bed. "I'm going to have to do it at some point."

"That's right. And I didn't raise no quitter." He handed her one of the cups and took a sip from his.

"You didn't raise me."

"Eh, we were raised together. Same thing." Dmitri hooked his arm around Serena's shoulders and pulled her close while they walked out of their hotel room. "Remember what we practiced, and what we talked about."

"I know. I know." Serena took a deep breath and began to speak calmly. "Have you checked your Instagram today?"

"Huh? Why?"

"I just want to know if anyone's here."

"Uh, thousands of people are here."

"Skaters that are better than we are."

"Oh. Right. Well, JJ for starters. And I believe Otabek and Yuri P. is here, as well as-"

"What about Yuri Katsuki?"

"Nope. I don't think he is. But I bet you that he's competing again this year with Viktor as his coach."

"Ah, so hopefully I'll get to meet them sooner than I thought!"

"I'm sure you will. Hm. Going on, I know that in your division that Sara and Mila will be there."

"Yeah, I knew that. Sara told me."

"Right. Emil and Michele will be here. But you knew that. We're in Switzerland so Christophe Giacometti might make an appearance. He quit skating so if anything, it will be to help judge or just to reminisce his skating past.

"Ah, Sara showed me his performance: Intoxicated. It was amazing! He has a gorgeously sculpted body-"

Dmitri cleared his throat and sneered. "…And two other males that I have never heard of. Michele told me about them. Although, this is a small qualifier round. We both just have to place in the top three."

"It sounds weird to hear you call him by his real name. Usually we all call him Mickey."

"Well, We're around other people who don't know him by his nick name. It's polite to be accurate in a public appearance. Alright, we're about to go in. Do you remember what we worked on last night?"

"Mmhmm. Hardly anything. Although, I'm excited to finally perform. I know I was nervous before, but now that it's finally time to register, I feel like I can easily take gold. I just hope I do well on my free performance tomorrow.

"Good. I'm excited to see you skate in front of everyone. You'll do great, I know you will."

"Thank you, Dmitri." Serena gave him a tight hug and inhaled deeply. "I'll make you proud. I promise."

"Hey, you better." He winked and gently slapped her on the back. "Alright. I'll see you in a few minutes. Go find out which number you are."

"Alright." Serena turned away from her brother and walked in the direction of the registration booth. Her heart began to pound as she realized that she was all alone in a big crowd. She hadn't been this nervous since coming home from camp 5 years ago. She looked back to see if her brother was still waiting for her to return. 'Dmitri.. I can't even see you anymore..' She panicked as she turned back around towards the direction of the booth. She began to walk, but wasn't aware of the person walking in front of her. She bumped into a tall male with a wavy blonde undercut. He wore round glasses that magnified his hazel eyes, and appeared to have a 5o'clock shadow.

"I-I'm so sorry! Perdonami!"

The male looked down at her with a confused look before speaking. "C'est D'accord. You better hurry. The ceremony is about to begin."

"Huh?!" Serena looked down at her phone and noticed it was 8:52 A.M. "You're right! Merci!" She looked back up to thank him, but he was gone. "He responded to me in French. Did he understand Italian, too? Ah, whatever. I'm running late as it is." She walked up to the booth and was greeted by a blonde, middle-aged woman. The woman handed her a slip that Serena had to fill out with her information. Within two minutes, Serena had her number and was making her way back towards the arena entrance, hoping to find her brother.

"Hey! Over here!"

Serena looked over and noticed that her brother was leaning against one of the walls towards the entrance. He smiled as he waved towards her. She approached him with a weak smile across her face.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure."

"Mmhmm."

"Okay.. What number did you get?"

"I'm 4th to perform."

"Ah! At least it's not first and it's not last!"

"True. So, what place did you get?"

"First!"

"Oh. That's awesome."

"You're acting strange. What happened to you while you were gone? Relax. You will advance back into competing. You're going to do great out there."

"I know. You're right." She exhaled and stretched her arms to the ceiling. "Do you think mama and dad are watching?"

Dmitri smirked at her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Of course. We're both trying out. This is a big deal, seeing how old we both are."

"There are other skaters that are older than we are. Yuri K. to be exact. But, I know what you mean." Serena nodded and took a deep breath. "So… how are we going to explain our situation? Dad's retired. We HAVE to have a coach. We can't be each other's coach if we both win."

"Says…?"

"The rule book, duh."

"It says nothing about a brother coaching his little sister. Besides, dad is still technically our coach. We can just say he had to go home-"

"You still fail to understand. If we both win, what will we do? Dad can't sponsor both of us. He can't sponsor either of us! He's retired! Get that through your head, Dmitri!" Serena scoffed and crossed her arms. "I swear, you better have a plan for all of this."

Dmitri stroked his sister's cheek and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll think of something. I always do. Now, go get ready. The ceremony's about to start and both of us need to be in our own ranking. Go out there and make Northern Italy proud."

"Why not all of Italy?"

"Eh, fine. Make Italy proud." He took her hand and walked into the stadium. As soon as they came to the end of the isle, they parted ways towards their own group. Serena looked around and noticed that someone was waving from a few chairs away. It was Sara. She made her way towards her friend and sat down next to her.

"Thank goodness! I was so afraid I wouldn't have anyone to talk to before I perform."

"Well, here I am! You look nervous, Serena."

"You know I am." Serena looked around and then back at Sara. "I don't understand. I was just fine earlier. I just hope I do well."

"You'll do great! I've told you this time and time again, and you always do wonderfully. Besides, there's only 5 females and 5 males competing here. This is qualifiers. It's a big deal, yeah, but just relax and do your best."

"You and I have to place in the top three. I can't do this without my best friend with me."

"Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way."

Serena smiled slightly and then looked out onto the ice. "Mila's so pretty. It's like she's Russia's ice queen."

"I agree. The girl before Mila was great, as well. Oh, I'm next!" Sara stood up and took her track jacket off. She was wearing a navy blue and white performance outfit. "It's new! Do you think I look okay?"

"You look great. Good luck out there." Serena looked around once more and then back towards the arena to watch her best friend. She could hear Mickey cheering her on from the other side. After a few moments, Serena spaced out and began to mildly panic. 'I can do this. I can do this.' She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths while repeating her words to herself. 'I'm going to get gold. I'm going to make Italy proud. I'm going to take over the family restaurant.'

"Next up, #4 Serena Djangelo."

"Huh?!" Serena said aloud as she looked up to an empty rink. The crowd became still as Serena made her way out towards the center. Her heart began to pound as she noticed that all eyes were on her.

"Serena will be performing to Prince's own: Raspberry Beret."

As soon as her music started, she began to glide across the ice with incorporated movements and choreography taught by Dmitri. Her first jump was a single axle, and she landed cleanly while the audience broke out into applause. She caught her eye on Dmitri and her friends as she geared up for her second jump, a triple lutz.

'I know what Dmitri and I talked about, but I can do it. I have to show him that I'm strong enough without his decisions.' She made her jump with a clear landing, her skin became chilled with adrenaline. She looked out towards the crowd where Dmitri would be, and saw her brother grinning while applauding. With 3 minutes and 35 seconds feeling like 10 minutes, she was finally finished with her routine. She skated towards the Kiss and Cry, and noticed Dmitri welcoming her with open arms.

"That was beautiful, Serena! I mean, we need to work on your take off for the triple lutz, but other than that, you did amazing!"

"Thanks, Dmitri." She took the water bottle from his hand and began to drink. "I just hope I did well enough to place in the top three."

"It's over now. The last person's performing now, and then it's onto the men's division. Just relax, okay? They will announce the results soon enough."

"Alright."

"Ah, I'm next! I probably shouldn't even be in the kiss and cry with you, but I had to congratulate you."

"I appreciate it. Go out there and show everyone what you can do."

"Will do." He kissed Serena's forehead and made his way towards the ice. She huffed and quickly smiled for a set of pictures before making her way towards the empty row of seats reserved for coaches, family and other skaters. She sat down, and stared out towards the rink with her thoughts racing through her head.

'What if we both rank? What are we going to do? Who's going to help either of us out? What if Dmitri makes it but I don't?!' She looked down to her skates and could feel her eyes begin to water. 'My anxiety is so bad right now. I should be happy that I made it out of the rink alive!'

"Next up, Dmitri Djangelo."

"Ah!" Serena perked up and watched as her brother made his way towards the center. The way he moved screamed confidence. There were girly screams coming from one side of the stadium. 'That's... not disturbing at all.' Serena shuddered and stuck her tongue out.

"Dmitri will be performing to Prince's: Let's Go Crazy."

As Dmitri began his routine, Serena sat back and studied his every move. "He taught himself a lot of this. He didn't even really ask for my help, except for my critique. And he insisted on creating MY routine.." She scoffed under her breath as she watched her twin with envy.

"Serena!" Emil walked over and sat down next to her, embracing her in a quick hug. "I'm so proud of you! You did great!"

"Not as great as Emil's doing.."

"Huh? What are you talking about? You both have already shown what you have to offer. You aren't better than him, and he isn't better than you."

"He's just so confident in his moves. I didn't help him at all. I was only his critic."

"But he helped you?" Emil stared out at Dmitri and then looked back at Serena. She nodded and looked back down at her skates.

"He created my routine."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. I guess I asked him to? I don't remember doing so. I just asked for his help."

"Well, maybe he took it the wrong way?"

"Obviously."

"Well, regardless, you're going on to do great things. I promise that you'll be in the top 3. Along with Sara."

"Thanks Emil.." Serena smiled and watched her brother finish his routine. "So.. what number are you?"

"I'm 3. I'm right after Mickey. I just hope I move on with him. A couple years ago, I failed so bad that I had to sit it out."

"You'll do great. I'll be watching. I really should be going to the kiss and cry to be with Dmitri."

"Of course. Just relax, okay?"

"I'll try." She stood up and walked over to where Dmitri was sitting. He grinned up at her, sweat beading across his forehead and cheek bones.

"Serena! That felt great!"

"You did wonderful." She smiled and embraced him in a hug.

"Thanks sis. I think I at least placed second."

"Oh? Second? I thought you were shooting for first."

"I am. I just haven't seen the competition." He smirked towards the camera. "Heh, I have a fan club. Or, a developing one."

"Yeah. I heard." She cleared her throat and stood up from the bench. "If I had a group of guys doing that, you'd lose your damn mind."

"Yeah, I would. Do you blame me?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Nevermind. Mickey's up next. Let's go back over to Emil." She took his wrist and tugged him over. Emil looked up and grinned at both of them.

"Way to go, Dmitri! You did great!"

"Hey, thanks man. You'll do great, too." Dmitri grabbed his water bottle and began to drink. "Whoa, look at him go! Mickey's been working hard, you can tell."

"Yeah. I know. Isn't he dreamy?" Emil grinned and gazed out at his Italian prince.

"Eh.. He's my friend. That's it." Dmitri shrugged and sat back. "You both are."

"I hope we all place. If not, we will have to work harder to place next year."

"They're going to choose 6 of us to move on to compete after qualifiers. That's why we're here. There will be a top 3, and those three skaters will be celebrated more, but it's still a chance to do better and get gold in the end. Besides, our competition doesn't look too strong. Mickey did well, and so did I. And, you're next, so.."

"No pressure.. got it.." Emil looked down as his complexion flushed to a pale white.

"You'll do wonderful, Emil! I know you will. After all, you're one of my favorite skaters!"

"Yeah, with me being your top favorite." Dmitri stuck his tongue out at Serena.

"No, actually, I don't really have a top favorite. Except if you count Yuri Katsuki. Honestly, I can't really rank any of them. They are all just too perfect!" Serena laughed as she nudged her brother's shoulder. "I do admire your skating though. Don't be jealous."

"Yeah, yeah.." Dmitri scoffed and looked away. "Mickey's done. Go get 'em, Emil."

"Huh?!" Emi snapped his head up and noticed that Mickey was in the kiss and cry with Sara. He stood up and took a deep breath before walking towards the rink.

"You can do it, Emil! Focus!" Serena shouted as she sprung up from her chair. She sat down and noticed that Dmitri was still pouting like a teenage boy. "What's your problem?"

"You didn't seem that excited when I was out there."

"I was, I was just focused on watching your moves."

"Uh huh. Anyways. I hope you're ready for tomorrow."

"I am. I just need some rest, that's all."

"Alright. Well, after we find out where we are ranked, then we can grab something to eat and get some rest."

"Deal." She watched as Emil skated to his routine without any mistakes. "He sure has improved throughout the years."

"He really has. Everyone has." Dmitri smiled and looked back at his sister. "Especially you. You've come a long way in such a short amount of time."

"Thanks, Dmitri."

"You're welcome. We were all born to skate, that's for sure. I hope you aren't feeling homesick."

"Not at all. I want to keep traveling and skating."

"Good. I'm so glad to hear that. I was afraid that you would want to skip out and go home."

"And leave my brother to do all of the work? Never." Serena laughed and began to applaud loudly when Emil finished his routine. "He did so well.. Only two more skaters and then we find out how we all placed."

"That's enough time to get something to eat. Come on, I think we deserved it." Dmitri stood up and took his sister's hand. "They're selling pastries and coffee at one of the concession stands.

"Mmm, say no more." Serena grinned and looked around as they walked out to the arena lobby. "Where is the stand you were talking about?"

"Oh, over here!" Dmitri tugged her along and walked up to the front counter. "What do you want?"

"I don't care. Anything's fine."

"Alright." Dmitri looked at the menu and began to order. Serena gazed around and heard cheering coming from inside the arena. "Looks like the last person is up. We should get back soon."

"I know." He took the drinks that were handed to him and gave one to Serena. "It's a latte. I hope that's okay."

"Sounds good to me."

"Oh, and they had croissants. I doubt they are better than dad's, but they will do." He handed his sister a pastry and began to walk back towards the arena. As soon as they found their seats, they began to tally up final scores before announcing the top three for that day's performances.

"I wish they'd hurry up.." Serena shifted in her seat and nervously bit off a chunk of croissant.

"Relax. You know it takes them a few minutes. I wonder what happened to everyone else?" Dmitri looked around and back at his sister. "I guess they decided to grab their own seats?"

"Probably. Who cares." Serena finished her pastry and sipped her latte until the top three skaters of each division were announced.

"If we could have our top three female skaters come to the center: First up, Mila Babicheva, Second, Sara Crispino, and third, Serena Djangelo!" The speakers rang as Serena's head began to spin.

'Third…?'

"Serena! Way to go!" Dmitri embraced her and turned her to face the rink. "Go on! You ranked in the top three!"

"Right.. We still have to wait to see how I do tomorrow to see if I can move on."

"You will. Now, go up there!" Dmitri grinned and watched his twin sister accept her position.

In Serena's eyes, she could have done better. She should have gotten first. 'First competition of the season, and I'm currently in third place. I still have tomorrow to go, and even then, I don't know if I can do better than what I did today. I worked so hard! Third isn't good enough. Why do I feel like such a failure?' Serena approached the stand and accepted the crowd with a weak smile. After the applause from the audience rang out, she made her way back to the stands to hear what her brother placed. As soon as she sat down, they began to announce the male division rankings.

"Third: Emil Nekola. Second: Michele Crispino. First: Dmitri Djangelo!"

"Way to go…" Serena said softly with a faint smile fading across her lips. "You better have a plan…" She whispered softly as she stood up to greet her brother at the gate. He approached her and embraced her in a tight hug.

"We did it!"

"Yeah, and that plan of yours is?"

"Serena, relax. This is just day one. We won't have to worry about anything until tomorrow."

"No, we need to think of something as soon as possible, Dmitri. We may have both placed, but what happens if both of us qualify?!"

"Relax. We're going to be okay." Dmitri led his sister out of the arena, and down the escalators to the lower level. "All we gotta do is go back to our hotel room, and think of a plan."

"We?! No no, it's your responsibility. You told me you had a plan."

"Which I do. I just need a plan B just in case."

"Greaaaaat" Serena sighed and placed her hand on the door knob when suddenly, they were both called out.

"Hey! It's those Italian twins! They're back after a long hiatus!" A man shouted as he pointed towards them. He walked over, a voice recorder in his hand. "Ah! The Djangelo twins! It's nice to meet you, I'm from the press. I hear you both decided to come back after taking some time off for…"

"College." Dmitri blurted out without hesitation.

"Ah, I see." He gestured them over to a corner, his camera crew behind him, taking pictures of them both. "Dmitri, your performance was practically flawless! How do you build up the stamina?"

"I live to skate. I practice as much as I can without over-stressing myself.

"Wow! Very smart! So, Serena, your performance was breathtaking and graceful, are you upset about the score you received?" The man held the recorder up close to her face.

Serena shook her head as the cameras began to flash in her face. "I feel like I could have done way better, but I am happy that I will be advancing onto the next competition. And my best friend will be there as well."

"Ah! Your best friend is?"

"Sara Crispino. She won second, but she worked very hard to get there. I'm proud of her."

"That's very sweet of you to say, Miss Djangelo. Are there any motivators in your life?"

Serena looked around at all of the reporters and a few people that were standing towards the doors. The flashing lights from the cameras were enough to blind someone and easily threw off her concentration. Dmitri gave her a nudge to bring her back to reality. "Ah! Yes! Quite a few people are my motivators, actually. My family always pushes me to be better than what I was the day before-"

"What about famous ice skaters?"

"Well, Michele and Sara Crispino, and Emil Nekola-"

"Anyone else?"

"Yuri Katsuki made me want to try again. I think he was the biggest motivation. Seeing him start back up a few years ago proved to me that anyone can do what they put their mind to."

"Wonderful! Dmitri, how about you? What do you plan on doing with your career? You seem to be heading for gold! You're already ranked at first, and it's only your first performance of the season."

"And I plan to place first in my other competitions, as well as tomorrow. I dream to one day win the men's championship in Paris, where my father won."

"That's why you are here, yes?"

"That, and to see my sister succeed."

"So noble! So, where are your coaches?"

"Well, growing up our father coached us, and when he retired-"

"So, you don't have a coach?"

"We do! We just take turns teaching each other routines and coaching choreography."

"Dmitri..." Serena sighed and buried her face into her hands. 'You are such an idiot! How could you straight up say such a dumb idea?'

The press became quiet and then everyone began to speak amongst the people around them. "So. You coach Serena, and she coaches you?" The press leader shook his head. "You two and I need to have a discussion in private. This meeting is over." He stood up and walked over to a closed door. He opened it up and let Serena and Dmitri inside.

"What's the deal? Why did you take us away from that?! We need the publicity!"

"Dmitri!" Serena hissed as she nudged her brother with her elbow.

"Just who are you, anyways? I have a feeling that you aren't just head of the press."

"I work for the International Skating Union, and I am the director of this qualifier. I am legally allowed to disqualify you both for what you have done. I brought you in here to save yourselves from further humiliation. Do you two understand how unethical this would be? You both would have a slim chance of competing at the same competitions. I'm sorry, but the rules state that other competitors may not aid in other competition's success. This translates to coaching another person that may be competing."

"But, Serena's in the female division, and I'm in the male division-"

"Yes, but you two still would have to spit up to travel to different places to compete. You have two options, and only two. One, you forfeit and go home."

"Anything but that! We worked so hard to get here!" Dmitri slammed his palms down onto the director's desk.

"Are you sure? You haven't even heard the second option yet."

"Dmitri, stop and think!" Serena hissed as she nudged his arm with her elbow.

"I'm not forfeiting. I'll run 1,000 miles in 2 weeks before I give up my chance to win big."

"So be it. You two will get to compete again, but not until next season. If you really want to win that badly, you can train harder and sharpen your skills up. You both will be put on a waiting list for a coach. Unfortunately, that would mean traveling to different competitions. Do you think you two can handle being apart?"

"Can't we see if someone will coach both of us?"

"Mr. DJangelo, I don't think you understand how unlikely that is. You're lucky that I'll give you this opportunity and let you both keep your medals."

"N-Next season?!" Serena's eyes began to water as she clutched her fists together. "No! We worked so hard!"

"I know you both did, but you two should have studied the rules a little harder. You both are great skaters, you can go on to win gold each time you compete. However, I will say that you both need to spend a little bit more time practicing after so much time off."

"What if someone doesn't choose us?! How long does it take?"

"Well, since you and your brother did a good job and placed in the top three, you both have a pretty good chance of getting chosen. If you get chosen, I'd stick with your coach so you will get to compete next year. Sometimes it can take weeks, if not a couple of months to find someone. I'd say that if you don't receive a letter in the mail by late March, you both will have to find your own coaches and come back next year."

"Someone will choose us. We're great at what we do. Come on, Serena." Dmitri stood up and walked out of the room. Serena followed closely behind while wiping her eyes with her jacket sleeve. There was a crowd of reporters that were interviewing other skaters, and people that were leaving the arena. Dmitri took Serena's wrist and led her over to the side so they could talk. Dmitri pulled Serena's hands down and noticed that her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes were red and slightly puffy.

"Hey. Look. I know you're upset-"

"Dmitri you idiot! You didn't read the rules thoroughly, and you wouldn't listen to us! Your own friends and I even tried to tell you! We wasted all this time for nothing, and now I might not be able to make my dream come true!"

"Serena, calm down! We'll get a coach. You and I."

"Dmitri, if someone chooses only one of us, we have to go with them. We'll have to split up."

"No, we can find someone that is willing to teach both of us."

"Dmitri, I have to try to live my life again! I have to try to make my dream come true myself. Why can't you accept that?"

"Serena, we both know you can't do it without me. You've never been able to succeed without me."

"You're such a jerk, Dmitri!" Serena tried to storm off, but was grabbed by Dmitri. He hugged her tight as she tried to struggle away. "Let go of me! I'm going back to our room!"

"Serena, just give this time. We'll make this work. We always do."

"Whatever. Just let me go!" Serena broke free and stormed off towards their hotel room.

Emil approached Dmitri with Mickey behind him before he was aware of the situation. "Dmitri! Hey! Oh, Serena! Great jo-"

Serena rushed past Emil and Mickey as she walked down the hallway to the staircase. She walked upstairs but could hear someone calling her name from the bottom of the staircase. She stopped and noticed Emil was approaching her. Serena sighed and shook her head.

"Don't worry about me, alright? I'll be okay-"

"Serena, what happened?"

"Dmitri's an idiot, that's what happened! We pretty much got disqualified because we don't have coaches." She wiped her eyes and turned to ascend the staircase. Emil rushed up behind her and followed Serena to her hotel room.

"That's not telling me a lot. Come on, talk to me. Mickey's with Dmitri right now. I don't know where Sara is, and I know that you'd probably rather talk to her but-"

"I appreciate you even being concerned. We were told that we should sign up to obtain a coach, and even then, it isn't promised. If someone doesn't choose us, then we must find our own coaches. I should have never came back. I should have just stayed huddled in my room."

"Don't say that! You're great at what you do, and you deserve to be out there with a gold medal around your neck. Someone will choose you both."

"That's another thing. Someone could choose only one of us, and the other might get chosen by another person. Meaning, we may be split up."

"Well, that hasn't happened yet, so just try to relax. I know it's a lot to take in right now, but just keep practicing. You have your friends on your side."

Serena embraced Emil tightly and began to cry. "I hate this! I should be advancing on and winning! Why do I have to be a twin?! I'll never get to have my own life!"

"You do have your own life, Serena. Your brother is just a big part of it. I wish I had siblings. I know I don't exactly know your situation, but your brother DOES mean well. Just like Mickey means well with Sara."

"Mickey's obsession got pretty bad after what happened 5 years ago. He had every right to."

"Everyone became protective after that. The important thing is, is that we are all close just like we were 5 years ago. We have grown up, have taken on challenges, and have found love."

"You and Mickey have found love with each other. None of us have found love."

"Not yet, but we all do at some point. I promise you, when you do find love, you'll be a completely different person. I feel the best I have ever felt, and we've only been dating for nearly 2 weeks."

"I can tell." Serena wiped her eyes. "Thanks for the encouragement and for listening to me. I know I'm being silly about this."

"You aren't. I understand where you are coming from, and I know that you have goals to accomplish that you can only accomplish on your own. You'll succeed. I promise you."

"Thank you, Emil. You're such a great friend. I'm so happy that we all met."

"Same. Let's go grab something to eat. I bet Dmitri is helping Mickey look for Sara."

"That sounds perfect." Serena stood up from her bed and walked over towards the door. "You did great out there, Emil. I watched you, just like you watched me."

"Thanks. That means a lot." He grinned and followed Serena out the door.

Thank you all for sticking with me, and being patient as I finish up my college work! I try to make my chapters as long as possible, to keep everyone more entertained :)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As soon as they arrived in the lobby, Serena spotted Dmitri heading towards her. Her heart began to race, as she remembered the real reason why she was upset.

"Hey. Can we talk? Just us?" He began to utter as he approached her.

"We can later. I'm starving." Serena kept walking with Emil towards Mickey and Sara.

"Alright." Dmitri approached the group and watched as Sara embraced Serena in a tight hug.

"Serena. I'm so sorry. Dmitri told us everything-"

"Probably not EVERYTHING, but it's okay. It doesn't matter right now. Let's get something to eat and then you and I can talk later. By ourselves." She glanced back at Dmitri and then back at Sara.

"Deal." Sara pulled away and took her hand. She led her towards the lobby exit and started chatting up a storm. Dmitri tried to hear what was going on, but he had no luck, as someone grabbed onto his jacket sleeve. He looked back and noticed that it was Mickey.

"Hey, I know you want to talk to her about everything that happened but let her relax and spend some time with Sara. I think it will make her feel better." He took Dmitri's wrist and pulled him back.

"I know. I just have the feeling that she hates me right now."

"She doesn't. As one twin to another, I say give her some space, I know it's difficult-"

"You're just saying that because you and Emil are dating, and you're less sensitive to your sister."

"Hey, there's no need to be a jerk, man." Mickey huffed as he crossed his arms. "I'm telling you, back away from her while she's like this, or she's going to blow up on you. Be smart about this. Do you want to push her away?"

Dmitri sighed and shook his head. "Never."

"Okay. Then take my advice. Come on. They're almost out of sight."

"I think I heard them say that they were going to a small French café a couple blocks down. Sara's been talking about it all morning." Mickey looked around and spotted Emil, who was trying to catch up with the girls. Mickey took off, with Dmitri following closely behind.

Soon after everyone was reunited, they walked into the cafe and found and empty table. Sara took Serena's hand, and led her to the ladies room.

"Hey, so can I talk to you? Something exciting happened today, and I want to share. We can take a walk and I can explain more later." Sara walked over to the vanity and began to fix her hair while staring at her reflection.

"Uh oh. What did you get yourself into this time?" Serena laughed softly and applied a layer of lip balm onto her lips.

"Well, you can't tell anyone, okay? I don't want anyone to find out just yet."

"Why? Seriously, tell me what's going on."

"I may be in a relationship. I mean, I don't know just yet. They haven't made it official or anything, but we.. kind of met up last night after Mickey fell asleep and walked around town."

"Oh my god, why didn't you tell me?!"

"I figured you were asleep, so I didn't want to wake you. But, you are the first and only person I'm going to tell. So, don't tell anyone just yet. I want to take things slow and I really hope it works out."

"Well, I hope it does, too. If this person makes you happy, then I want you to be happy. You can tell me all about them later. You and I can go get dessert and coffee and discuss everything."

"I'd like that. Come on, the guys are probably wondering what happened to us."

"Alright. Lead the way."

Sara walked back to the table with Serena trailing close behind her. Dmitri glanced up at her and then looked away quickly. Serena sighed and sat down by Emil and Sara.

"So, what looks good?" Dmitri glanced at the menu and back at Mickey.

"The crepes look good. With strawberries and whipped cream. It's something I haven't had for awhile." Mickey spoke up as he flipped through the menu.

"Oooh! That sounds good. Except, I'll have crepes with chocolate and whipped cream. I really shouldn't, but I should have a cheat day."

"My dear Sara, you look perfect. Don't you stress a thing." Mickey smiled at Sara and sat his menu down.

Emil looked down at his phone and began to write out a message to Serena.

 _"Hey, I don't want to make a scene, but I hope everything's okay. I understand that this all just happened and you didn't exactly have a long time to talk things through."_

"Mm. Chocolate crepes from me, please." Emil looked up and sat his phone down.

"Strawberries and chocolate for me. It's been a rough day." Serena sighed and looked down at her phone as it vibrated.

 _"New message from: Emil"._ Serena tapped her message icon and read the message. She stared at the message before taking her time to reply.

 _"Not really. I have so much on my mind right now. It's tearing me apart. And Dmitri won't even look me in the eyes now. Everything seems helpless. Thanks so much for checking in on me, though. You're the best. I'll text you more about it later."_ Sent.

The waitress soon came over and took everyone's order. As soon as she walked away, Sara started a new conversation.

"So, Serena and I are going to go out after dinner and talk some and probably grab some dessert. You boys will just have to occupy yourselves."

"You two? Alone? Never!" Dmitri and Mickey exclaimed together.

"Mickey! We need our time-"

"Fine. At least take Emil with you."

"What?! How is that going to help them?" Dmitri scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Hey! I do a good job at watching over my friends. It's what I do."

"Yeah, well, what if you ALL get hurt?"

"Then it would be worse if you and Dmitri were with us. Besides, I'm just going to watch them. I'm not going to be a part of the conversation."

"We weren't going to let you be apart of it anyways, Emil." Sara sighed and grabbed Serena's hand. "It's much needed girl's time."

"Ouch. Fine." Emil frowned and looked down at his phone. "But it can't be long. It's already 8:30."

"We know, we know. We've also been up since 8 AM."

"This is true." Serena sighed and looked up as the waitress brought their orders. "Finally! Food." She began to dig into her dish.

"You should have eaten something earlier." Dmitri frowned as he cut into his crepes.

"If I would have, I would have thrown up after learning about our fate." Serena sat her fork down and took a drink of her water.

"That's not healthy." Mickey shook his head and looked over at Serena.

"Neither is what happened, but it happened anyways." Serena cut another piece and placed it in her mouth. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be nasty about the situation. It hasn't even been that long and it's still in my mind."

"Don't be, Serena. We're all here for you both. Friends support each other, even if they compete against one another in a sport. You should know this by now. We've been friends for going on 6 years now. Sara and I wouldn't have it any other way." Mickey shoved a fork full of crepes into his mouth.

"Neither would I." Emil spoke up.

"Thanks, everyone. I do feel like we can make a comeback if we work hard enough. And, if someone will choose us."

"They will! I know it's easier said than done, but you can't worry so much about it, Serena. You just found out about it today. Both of your names are out there now, and any day, you will be chosen. You have to believe in yourself, first." Sara took a drink and sat her glass down. "You both did damn good, and there were a lot of people there watching. The applause both of you got was incredible, and people want more. "

"The applause just makes me want to keep going." Dmitri finally spoke after a few moments of eating. "I know it sounds arrogant, but I've always fed off attention. There's someone out there who will make us stars."

"You were wrong about us competing without a coach, but I really hope you're right about someone choosing us."

"I'm well aware of what happened, Serena. I said I was sorry, alright?"

"I know you did. It's whatever now. Just don't do anything else to screw up our career." Serena finished off her plate and placed it in the middle of the table. "That was amazing."

"It really was." Sara sat down her fork.

"The two girls are done before we are. That's sad, you guys." Dmitri finished up his dish and placed it in the middle.

"I'm full. I don't think I can eat anymore." Emil frowned and looked down at his small remains.

"You okay? Normally you can finish your meal." Mickey finished his plate up and placed it in the middle.

"Eh, I'm not feeling the greatest right now. I think it's because I'm tired from performing today."

"I think we all are. We just need to all get some good rest."

"I agree with you. Oh, but I'm going out with the girls as they have their time. Maybe if I'm hungry enough, I'll stop behind and pick something up."

"Do what you need to. I do hope we can have some time together."

"Oh, Mickey! You're starting to choose Emil over me! That's wonderful." Sara beamed at Mickey.

"Oh Sara, you will always be my gold medal."

Emil cleared his throat and stood up with Serena. He handed Mickey his bill and Swiss franc. "Here. You can keep the change if you want. I'll make sure they stay safe. Just trust me."

"I do trust you." Mickey frowned. "We will get to see each other later, yeah? I figured we could celebrate your silver victory."

"Aw, Mickey.. of course. I'll be back later." Emil grinned and followed Serena and Sara out the door. Mickey sighed and sat back.

"So, you want to talk more about what you plan on doing? You know how this is affecting Serena."

"I know. For starters, I'm going to talk to her. I won't argue." Dmitri stared down at the table and looked over at his friend. "As far as someone choosing us, I am hopeful. However, I don't know for certain when it will happen, and what we should do beforehand."

"Well, for starters, you both should keep up with practicing.

"We were planning on it. I'm more concerned about Serena not hating me. I did a bad thing."

"Yeah. You did. But there's nothing you can do now except for help her out and accept what comes to you both. Take this time away from her to clear your head so you don't start an argument with her later."

"I know. I just hope she'll listen to me."

Meanwhile..

"So, I wanted to tell you about the person I've been seeing. I know you haven't forgotten."

"Not at all. Thank god Mickey stayed with Dmitri and they both allowed Emil to shadow us."

"I know, right? It's almost as if this is a dream. He's keeping his distance, too." Sara looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Him and my brother make a great couple.. Mickey's been so different since they got together. It's been really nice. He even told our parents, and they're completely fine with everything. They want to meet Emil when he comes to visit for New Years. Speaking of, we're all still crashing at your place for the weekend, yeah?

"That's the plan. Mom and dad are leaving the 30th of December, so it's just us."

"I bet it'll be fun. Mickey and I normally plan an outing together when our parents aren't around."

"That's amazing. I love spending time with him, but I just wish Dmitri would shape up."

"He will. It just isn't his time, I guess. But, look on the bright side. He did mention that you guys could try again next year-"

"Yeah, but did he also tell you that we have to be chosen by someone to coach and sponsor us. He's flawless. He will have no problem getting someone to teach him."

"And you'll have an easier time than he will! Look at you, Serena. You're amazing. You radiate when you walk into a room. You make heads turn. Your routines are perfect. Ignore what those judges have to say! What's the worst that could happen?"

"We won't get chosen together."

"So what? That could be a great thing!"

"If you say so."

"I DO say so. Think about it. If you both get to go on your separate ways for a while, it will give you a chance to have some time alone with yourself and you'll be able to skate without your brother nagging you on."

"Easy for you to say. You and Mickey are still skating together with your father as your coach."

"Only for another couple of years. After next year, we must find our own coach. We want to continue skating. We just need to find someone to help us with that goal."

"You can both achieve it." Serena looked over her shoulder and noticed that Emil was stopped in front of a small café and chocolate shop. "We lost him. I think he wants to go in there. We should go back to him."

"Alright. It's pretty cold, and I could go for something warm."

"Same here. So.. about this love interest." Serena turned around and started to head back towards Emil.

"Her name is Mila."

"Mila? Like.."

"Babichevia? Si!"

"That's so awesome. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks. We seem to be hitting it off. I just hope it lasts."

"Just take things slow. Long distance relationships can be tough, but if anyone can do it, you can. I'm just glad you got over that Seng Gil. He was a jerk to you."

"He was, I know. But it took a good person for me to see that. Serena, thanks for listening and keeping this a secret. I do appreciate it."

"Hey, any time. Our friendship means a lot to me."

"Same here."

The two approached Emil and stopped talking. Emil frowned and crossed his arms. "Can I join in now?"

"Sure." Serena laughed and shook her head. "I don't know why you find out conversations so interesting."

"Well, I don't know what you two were talking about. But I think I know.."

"Well, we saw you looking into this café, so we figured we would stop for tea and dessert."

"Oooh, that sounds perfect. Are you feeling any better?" Emil opened the door to the café and waited for Sara and Serena to walk inside.

"Kind of. We just need to find a coach."

"Oh, trust me. You'll find the best coach for you both. The perfect coach just comes to you, it feels like."

"I guess." Serena walked up to the counter and began to look at the chocolate behind the counter. "I shouldn't. I ate so much at dinner."

"Same. But, do you want some tea?" Sara looked at her friend and back at the lady behind the counter.

"Sure. Chamomile if they have it."

"Ah, make that 3!" Emil reached into his wallet and handed Sara some Suisse franc. "I'm going to go sit down. Mickey's been texting me.

"Fine, fine. Thanks." Sara grinned and took his money, as Serena began to hand her portion in.

"Here. That should be enough."

"No. I'll take care of it. It's the least I can do to help."

"You being my friend and talking to me is enough, Sara."

"Yeah, but I insist. Please."

"Okay. Thank you, Sara." She looked back at Emil.

"Anytime. 3 Chamomile teas, please!" Sara handed the woman her money and looked back at Serena. "He's so sucked into that phone."

"He's in love."

"Ah, I guess you could say that I'm on my way there myself." She watched as the woman walked back to the counter with a tray in her hands. There were 3 cups of steaming tea nesting carefully on top.

"Merci!" Serena smiled and helped Sara back to the table.

"Ah, thanks ladies!" Emil reached out and took a cup from the tray.

"No problem." Serena sat down and began to sip her tea. "So, Emil, we can tell that you are absolutely smitten.. wanna talk about it?" she smirked at him between sips.

"I could go on and on." Emil blushed and began to grin like an idiot. "Dating an Italian man is a dream of its own. He's so gorgeously sculpted-"

"Ahh, this is so weird to hear!" Sara giggled and sipped her tea.

"Hush, let him finish!" Serena smiled and leaned forward.

"He's everything I've ever dreamed of in a lover.. I'm just glad that he decided to look my way. I worked so hard for him to notice me, and it finally worked."

"Oh, I can guarantee that he's always liked you, Emil. I know my brother. He doesn't text anyone besides you and me, and occasionally our parents. It's been that way since we've met you. He thought you were trying to get to me, so he was uneasy at first, but because you wanted to always be around HIM and not me, he lightened up."

Emil blushed deeply and looked down at the table. "Thanks for telling me. I would have always thought that I annoyed him."

"Oh, you did at times. But he still wanted to talk to you and be around you, just like you wanted to be around him."

"You two were meant for each other, and I think Sara can agree with me on that." Serena looked down at her phone . "We should get back. It's getting late. We must have been here for a moment."

"I would say about 15 minutes in here, and 20 minutes of walking. My face is still frozen!" Emil wrapped his scarf around his nose, lips and chin.

"I don't know how. You live in a naturally colder climate. Well, it gets pretty cold there."

"It does, but that doesn't mean that I like cold weather." He stood up and watched as the other two followed.

"He's right. Alright, let's face the cold again and get back to the hotel. Besides, Dmitri and I fly back home tomorrow. Dad bought us a plane ticket home."

"Uh oh, is he mad?" Sara followed them out of the café and walked back towards the hotel with her friends.

"No. Neither of them are. They're too busy worrying about moving to France. He texted me before I met up with you and told me that he was proud of us, but that he figured that we would want to come home. I agreed. As much as I want to cheer you all on, I feel as if we need some time to worry about finding a coach that will deal with us, and we need to practice harder than we have been. Unfortunately, my goals have been stretched out a bit, but dad mentioned that he would talk to me when I got home."

"That's great, at least he's understanding. I plan on coming to Italy during the holidays. Mickey wants me to come and visit before we come to your house for the new year weekend.."

"Ah, you're finally going to meet the family! That's great!" Sara grinned and nudged his arm. "I'm excited."

"Yeah. I am, too." He blushed and looked forward. "Also, you said that your parents were going to be gone, right Serena?"

"Mmmhmm. They're looking for a house to buy, so they'll be gone the whole weekend. It'll just be us."

"Sounds like a plan. Finally, we're back. It's so much warmer here!" Emil stretched his arms up as they walked into the lobby of the hotel.

"Yeah, it's much better." Serena led them to the elevators and patiently waited for the next elevator to take her back up to her room.

"You going to be okay?" Sara placed her hand on Serena's right shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Yeah. I think I am. Thanks, Sara. I appreciate your concern."

"Anytime. I know how heated arguments can get between siblings, but if you need me, you know where to find me. Okay?"

"Of course." Serena stepped into the empty elevator and watched as her friends followed her. She pressed the 3rd floor, and watched as the doors closed. As soon as they arrived, they walked out of the elevator. Serena led them to her room, and paused a moment before using her key to enter. "On second thought.. I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Emil looked at her, confused at her reaction. "I thought you said you were going to be okay?"

"I did. But I'm afraid this is going to erupt into one big argument. I don't want that."

"Then don't let it happen. Come on." Sara took the card from her hands and opened the door. They walked in and found Mickey and Dmitri watching the recap of the performances. Luckily, it was showing after Serena and Dmitri's performance.

"Hey, I was wondering when you all would be back." Dmitri smiled. "We just started watching."

"Oh. Nice." Serena smiled and sat her bag down. "Dmitri, we DO need to pack. We have an early flight."

"I know." Dmitri stood up and walked over to his suitcase.

"And we should all probably get going. We have the last day to complete." Mickey stood up and walked over to Emil and Sara. "It was fun, though. You both go home and relax some, okay? Don't worry so much. You'll both be fine."

"Thanks. We do appreciate it. And thank you both for coming out with me tonight. It helped." Serena walked up to Sara and Emil and embraced them both before holding open the door. "Please, let's skype after everything is done, okay?"

"Of course." Sara grinned and walked out. Mickey and Emil followed.

As soon as the door closed, Dmitri began to speak. "So.. can we talk? I don't want to argue, I just want to converse about what happened to us."

"Yeah. We can. I don't want to argue, either. I just want to understand your intentions. I got so upset at you, and I'm sorry." Serena sat down next to Dmitri and embraced him in a tight hug. "You've always been this way, and it's always been for the best. I'm just scared."

"Scared about what?" He hugged her back and pulled away.

"What if we get separated?"

"It's a possibility, but we're twins. We work together, and people understand that. Someone will have to know what we're worth, together."

"You know my passion has always been for the ice and for wanting to learn pair skating. I appreciate that you still consider me a partner, even though I'm your sister. You've could have gone on and done amazing things, but you stayed behind with me. You're the best, Dmitri. Thanks for being so positive about all of this."

"I have to be strong, for both of us. Don't get me wrong, you're very strong, but you have a hard goal to achieve. And you WILL do it. But for now, just focus on what needs to be done." He kissed her forehead and packed the rest of his clothes away. "Alright. I'm all set."

"And I'm almost done, as well, I didn't really unpack anything."

"I can see that." He grinned and stood up. "We should probably get to bed and worry about the rest tomorrow, okay?"

"Deal." Serena stood up and walked over to her bed. "I'm exhausted, anyways."

"Same here."

"Good night, Dmitri. Wake me up when it's time to go, okay?"

"You know I will."

 _"Alright, everyone! We're going to go through some of our favorite jumps that we like to do! Since there are only 10 of you here, we will go one at a time."_

 _"Hey, what jump are you going to do, sis?" Dmitri nudged Serena and she continued to stare at the instructor._

 _"I was thinking a double axle."_

 _"Oho, so you're going for one that you're most confident with."_

 _"Why wouldn't I?"_

 _"Don't you want to live life on the edge sometimes? Come on. Dad's not here to tell us what to do and what not to do."_

 _"Well, this is what I choose to do. You can do whatever you want and fail at it." Serena crossed her arms and huffed._

 _"Hey, relax. I'm only playing."_

 _"Dmitri Djangelo, you're up!"_

 _Dmitri dashed away from his sister and landed a double axle. Serena's jaw hung open as he made his way back over to her._

 _"What? Shocked?"_

 _"You did the jump I was going to do!"_

 _"So what? You can do it, too. Are you afraid that mine's going to be better than yours?"_

 _"Never."_

 _"Serena Djangelo, it's your turn."_

 _Serena glared at Dmitri and dashed to the end of the rink. Once she built up her momentum, she jumped and landed a double axle, flawlessly."_

 _"Way to go, Miss Djangelo! That was a perfect double axle!"_

 _Serena made her way back over to the group and looked over at her brother. He was beaming towards her. Serena's new friends were also smiling at her, especially Emil._

 _"That was amazing! You landed perfectly!" Emil exclaimed._

 _"Thanks. It just takes practice, that's all. Oh, and don't ever doubt me like that again, Dmitri." Serena stood next to Emil and smirked over at her twin. She looked back and watched as Sara was next to practice a jump._

 _"I hope I get that good one day." Emil watched as Sara landed her jump perfectly and then looked back at Serena. "Girls are just much more graceful than men."_

 _"Guys can be, too! You will get better. It's only the third day. The more you practice your jumps, the better you'll get! If you want, I could help you practice!" Serena began to clap for her friend as she skated back over towards them._

 _"R-really?! You'd do that for me?" Emil's face turned a bright red as he looked down at his skates. Dmitri cleared his throat and nudged Emil's arm._

 _"Don't get too excited. She's just helping a friend out." Dmitri scoffed._

 _"Dmitri, be nice!" Serena frowned and stared over at her brother._

 _"I know. And I'm really thankful for her generosity."_

 _"Yeah, yeah."_

 _"Well done, Miss Crispino! Alright, everyone. We've gone over in time. Tomorrow, we will pick back up where we left off. Get plenty of rest!" The instructor made her way off the ice, while everyone else followed behind her. Sara tugged Serena back, and had a smirk stretched across her face._

 _"Looks like you have an admirer."_

 _"Huh? Who?"_

 _"Emil! I saw him blushing at you. I don't know what you two were talking about, but he's always super chatty when you come around. Never mind. He's that way with Mickey, too."_

 _"He's just shy, that's all. He's happy that he has friends. He's a good kid."_

 _"Yeah, sure." Sara giggled._

 _"Besides, there's someone here that I sort of have a crush on."_

 _"Oh my god! Who?!" Sara stopped and looked at her friend._

 _"You can't tell anyone. Dmitri would probably kill me."_

 _"Okay, I won't. Who is it?!"_

 _"Erik." She nonchalantly pointed over at a tall, slender boy._

 _"Ooooh! That brunette with the tanned skin? The one from Greece?"_

 _"Yeah. Him. Now stop talking about it."_

 _"Alright, alright. Come on. We need to take a shower. It's almost 4, and everyone's going to get dinner at the same time. It always happens." Sara groaned._

 _"There's no way we will get showered and then back to our hotel rooms in time to meet up for dinner. We can go to a different restaurant this time. We don't have to go to the one that everyone usually goes to."_

 _"Okay, sounds good to me." Sara opened the door to the locker room and led Serena inside. They quickly showered and dressed themselves. As Sara was about to leave, Serena walked over to the door and looked back at her friend. "I'm going to grab a drink from the vending machine. Do you want anything?"_

 _"No thanks. Mickey's probably waiting for me outside, I should hurry so he won't freeze."_

 _"Good idea. We'll meet up with you both in a little bit, okay?"_

 _"Sure thing." Sara walked down the hall, while Serena made her purchase at the vending machine. She walked back to the locker room to retrieve her bag. She unzipped the top to pull out her sneakers, and noticed a folded-up piece of stationary._

 _"Huh? I don't remember putting a letter in my bag…" Serena opened the letter and began to read it to herself._

 _Serena,_

 _I must speak with you to discuss the feelings that I am having towards you. I hope that you will meet me, and share the same feelings towards me. I'll be waiting in the stands at 5. Come alone._

\- _Erik_

 _"Oh my god! When did he slip this into my bag?! How long has it been in here?! It's already 4, I have no time to get ready! Do I look okay?!" Serena spoke softly as she looked in the bathroom mirror. "Dmitri's not going to like this." She sighed softly and sat back onto the locker room bench. "No. I'm 18 and can make my own decisions. I'll just play it off and say that I left something in my locker." Serena rummaged through her bag and pulled out her purple neckerchief. "Perfect! He knows I love my accessories!" Serena locked her locker, and walked out of the locker room, her gym bag strapped across her torso._

 _"Deep breaths.. maybe he's already there.. Maybe you won't have to wait.." Serena spoke softly to herself as she opened the doors to the arena. She saw someone sitting alone in the stands. It was Erik. Serena felt herself begin to blush as her heart began to race._

 _'That's him! It's gotta be..' She thought to herself as she began to climb the stairs towards her crush and admirer._

 _"Serena. You came." Erik stood up from one of the seats and smiled at her._

 _"I did." She laughed nervously and looked down at her feet. "So, you have feelings towards me?" She looked back up and noticed that Erik was inching his face closer to hers. Serena could feel her heart begin to pound as she braced herself for her first kiss. He pressed his lips to hers, and took a hold of both of her shoulders. His lips were soft with the hint of minty lip balm. It was the greatest experience of her young life, until she felt the uneasy drop in her stomach. She pulled away and looked around after she heard something._

 _"I just heard something-"_

 _"Nonsense, babe. Come on." He cupped the back of her head and pressed his lips against hers again before sliding his tongue between her lips. Half of her wanted to keep going, while the other half was telling her that something was wrong. She heard snickering coming from her left, and jerked away from the kiss to see a group of teenagers: 3 girls and 4 guys._

 _"Cmon, Erik! You aren't doing it right! That is NOT how you kiss someone! You don't get the money if you don't do it right!" One of the guys shouted as two of the females held their cameras out to catch the action on video._

 _"I can't believe she's actually going through with this! What a sleaze! She must've known that he was in a relationship!_

 _"Erik, what is going on-"_

 _Erik forced another kiss upon her lips. As luck would have it, Dmitri was making his way inside to find his twin as she attempted to free herself._

 _"Serena- HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER?! LET HER GO!" Dmitri ran towards both of them. As Erik lost his guard, Serena finally ripped herself away from his grasp and dashed towards the stadium entrance. Tears were streaming down her face as she nearly ripped the handlebar off the door as she heard the screams coming from inside the stadium. She ran outside and slumped against the outside wall as Mickey, Sara and Emil approached her. She couldn't speak. All she could do was sob as she relived the moments that just happened to her._

 _"Serena! What happened-" Sara knelt down to her friend's level and reached out to her._

 _"I was just apart of a sick joke." Serena wiped her eyes and inhaled sharply. "Erik left a letter in my bag saying he needed to speak with me, and when I met up with him, he kissed me. I felt off, and then noticed that there were others around us. Some of them were filming, and saying that he wasn't going to get paid if he didn't kiss me properly. He never liked me. He just wanted to make me look like an idiot." She buried her face into her arms and curled her knees into her chest. A few moments later, Dmitri burst through the doors._

 _"Serena?! Oh thank god, you're right here."_

 _"Dmitri.." Serena looked up._

 _"Look, I don't know what happened, but he didn't say much as I was beating the shit out of him. The others ran away. He's still in there.. I'm pretty sure I knocked him out."_

 _"Dmitri!" Serena jumped up and took him by the shoulders. "You're going to get banned!"_

 _"I don't care. He obviously hurt you. Now come on, let's get back to the hotel room and you can tell me what happened. We don't have to go back to practice if you don't want to."_

 _"But if we quit and go home-"_

 _"We don't have to. We can explain what happened and just relax for the remainder of the time and then go home."_

 _"I don't want to skate anymore.. I'm done.."_

 _"Serena, you're shook up, Don't say stupid things like that."_

 _"I'm serious. I don't want to compete anymore."_

 _"You don't have to compete for awhile, sis. You and I can still practice and-"_

 _"I want to take a break for awhile, Dmitri." She embraced him in a hug and began to weep. "Please.."_

 _"Okay.. let's just get you back to the hotel.."_

"Dmitri!" Serena shot up from her bed and tried to catch her breath.

"Huh?! What is it?! What's wrong?!" Dmitri jumped out of bed and ran over to her side. Serena buried her face into her hands and let out a long sigh.

"The nightmares are back. They are as vivid as ever."

"Shit.. Are you sure?"

"Yes, Dmitri." She wiped her eyes and laid her head onto his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and began to rock her side to side.

"It's okay, Serena. It'll be okay. You haven't seen them since then, and I beat the living shit out of that guy.. and I didn't get in trouble, I might add."

"Yeah, but we still left with our tails tucked between our legs."

"You were pretty shocked, sis. Rightfully so, that guy was making out with you as a joke."

"I'm well aware."

"Look, Serena, that was the past. You have a bright future ahead of you."

"I won't if I don't get chosen by someone."

"You will, Serena. We both will. Anyone would be crazy not to choose us. We're the Djangelo twins. We're Italy's finest siblings, next to Michele and Sara, of course."

"I know. I just want to succeed."

"You will. You have me, remember?"

"Yeah. I know. Thanks Dmitri."

"Anytime, sis. Let's try to get back to sleep. We're leaving tomorrow to go back home."

"Right. Sorry for waking you up."

"Don't be. Goodnight."

 _December 24th,_

 _It's been three weeks since everything happened. I can't eat. I can barely sleep. I am not motivated to do anything whatsoever. Just when I thought things were going to be okay, I get proven wrong. I wish Dmitri would have thought about our plan a little better before agreeing to help me. Come to think of it, it's all my fault. I'm the one who acted upon something without thinking it through. I know I'm not at a total loss, but I really don't want to leave this place behind. Is it bad that I want this home and the restaurant to stay with me until the day I die? I can't skate forever, even though I love doing so. After you get so old, you lose touch at what it means to compete. If I do get chosen, I will work my hardest to succeed, and I will not let any negativity get in my way. If I don't get chosen, I don't know what I will do. I just want someone, ANYONE, to give us a fair chance._

 _I can't let myself down. I won't let myself down."_

Serena shut her diary and rolled over onto her back. She turned her head to face the window, but the sunlight was practically blocked out by the thick, purple curtains. She exhaled and sat up, feeling dizzy almost instantly.

"Hey, sis!" Dmitri's voice echoed up the stairs and down the hallway.

Serena looked towards her door and watched as it swung open with force. Dmitri ran inside and jumped onto her bed. He was holding two envelopes. "Look! One's for you, and one is for me! It looks like we both got chosen together!"

"Oh my god! Someone actually chose us!" Serena snatched her letter from Dmitri's hand and studied the address and her name on the envelope. "I can't believe it.."

"Well, believe it! We were amazing!" Dmitri shredded the envelope's top off and pulled the letter out. After carefully skimming through the letter, he grinned widely and began to laugh. "Holy shit! I got Jean Jacques Leroy! The king chose me! I can't believe it!"

"Huh?! Gimmie that!" Serena grabbed his letter and began to read it. "That's so unfair!"

"He might have chosen you, too! I told him that it was my passion to skate with my twin sister. He may have considered it! Open yours, quick!"

"Alright." Serena handed Dmitri back his letter and took a deep breath before opening her envelope. "Serena Djangelo,

Congratulations! After careful consideration, you have been chosen as a skating pupil by a registered coach! It is recommended that you begin to practice and to become acquainted with your coach as soon as possible! Your assigned coach will be contacting you through email provided to set up a meeting time. Until then, prepare to win gold at next year's competition.

Your coach will be: Christophe Giacometti-" Serena's eyes widened with shock. "What?! No no no no no we were supposed to be together!"

"Let me see. You probably read it wrong." Dmitri reached for the letter and began to read it. After a few moments, he let out a long sigh and cradled his forehead in his hands. "God damn it."

"W-What am I going to do?!"

"You're going to compete. Don't you remember telling me at the competition that if you get chosen by a different coach, that you must do what you have to do in order to keep this place? Do you remember that?"

"I-" Serena's eyes began to water. "We haven't been apart for more than a couple of days, and even then…" She wrapped her arms around Dmitri's neck and began to sob into his shoulder. "What are we going to do?! We've always skated together!"

"I don't know." Dmitri sighed and shook his head. "Now I know how Mickey feels about him and Sara having to split up one day."

"I feel sick.."

"Hey! Calm down! It's not SO bad.." Dmitri let out a nervous laugh and rubbed her back. "Maybe JJ will take you in, too! You said it yourself, you like him."

"Well, I DID say he was pretty cute. That's not the point, Dmitri. I'm going to have to train with someone I have never even met!"

"I've never met JJ. Come on. I think we should try to see if one of them will take both of us. The idea of a strange guy alone with my sister bugs me enough."

"We don't even know him yet, Dmitri. We can't be scaring off our coaches by our insecurities. I know what happened 5 years ago. I was the one who had to go through it. I didn't trust people for a very long time, but something is telling me that it will be okay… wait.. what am I saying?! I don't want to split up from you!"

"Wishful thinking isn't just going to magically solve everything."

"You're right. But, acting towards your problems and doing something about them, will. And who's to say that JJ won't be a creep?"

"He's my coach, I don't think I have anything to worry about."

"Wait a minute…are you going to be this way with every guy that encounters me? You picked on poor Emil when you found out he was crushing on me. When he was 15, none the less. And, it turns out that he's one of my best friends and he's nice to talk to. And, he's not interested in me. He has Mickey. Look, one of these days Dmitri, I WOULD like to get married and have my own family."

"Don't even speak like that right now. We have skating to think about."

"You're damn right. But one day when I achieve everything that I want to achieve, I will find love and happiness. And, one day, you will find love and happiness as well. You know how I am."

"I know. You fully complete one goal, and then you move on to the next. You don't cut corners, and you don't take short cuts."

"That's kind of the same thing, but yeah. The point is, you're my brother, and if we have to split up…" Serena paused and shook her head. "I'll be devastated. But, I have to do this to fulfill my dreams."

"Don't forget, I'm competing to help."

"Oh? I know you said that you were going to help, but I didn't think you were THIS interested." Serena began to laugh and wiped her eyes.

"What kind of a brother would I be if I didn't support my sister? Besides, you can't do it alone." He pulled her in for a hug. Serena stared at her wall and sighed.

"Yeah. That's why I have you."

"I wonder how our coaches are going to get in touch with us? Did you leave a cellphone number?"

"I did. And an email. I filled out everything on that form."

"Hm, then they are either going to text us or email us within the next couple of days. Tomorrow's Christmas, so we probably won't hear from anyone tomorrow."

"Ah, it is Christmas tomorrow! I've been so concerned about getting a letter that I nearly forgot."

"Well, get excited. Mom and dad got us a lot this year. Most of the stuff is for us."

"Ah, yeah. Here. I bought you something and made you something. I figured if we did get split up, you'd need something from me to help from being alone. It would be our luck that it happened, but we need to be strong, I guess. I know it's not Christmas just yet, but I wanted to give it to you now. Alone." Serena handed Dmitri a neatly wrapped present with a green bow.

"Oh, sis." Dmitri sighed and embraced her in a hug. "I know this isn't what we wanted. But, I'm doing this for you, and you're doing this for your own dream. I know I can be controlling at times, but I just worry about your well being. I really hope you don't resent me for that. It'll be hard getting used to you being away from me and in the presence of another guy, but I have to trust both of you. Even if I don't know him."

"Dmitri, I'm so proud of you." Serena smiled widely and pulled away. "Okay. Well now that the moment is over.. open it."

"I want to go get yours."

"Okay. Hurry though." She huffed and watched as her brother left the room. Moments later, he came back in and sat on the edge of her bed. He took the gift back from her and looked at it.

"It's beautifully wrapped. I'm sorry I can't say the same about yours." He handed Serena her gift and began to unwrap his own. Moments later, he pulled out a smaller, rectangular shaped box and a knitted green scarf.

"I hope it keeps you warm while you practice. I made it."

"Serena, I love it." He grinned and wrapped it around his neck and shoulders. "It's very warm. Thank you."

"You have one more! Open it!"

"Alright, alright." He opened the rectangular box and pulled out a gold chain necklace. "Whoa, sis! This is amazing! How did you-"

"Pay for it? I helped mom and dad in the restaurant."

"Serena, I love it. Thank you."

"Anytime. Now you'll look more like dad! He never goes anywhere without his chain."

"Haha, I know. Alright. Open yours. I saw it and I knew it would match your eyes."

Serena unwrapped her gift and opened the box. She pulled out a long, gold chain with an emerald gemstone pendant. "Dmitri! It's gorgeous!"

"Just like you. Here. Let me put it on you." He took the necklace from her hand and hooked it around her neck. She turned around and placed her hand over the pendant.

"It makes me feel so pretty!"

"It should. It really does bring out your eyes."

"You know how much I love emeralds."

"I know you do. We should probably go downstairs and meet mom and dad for dinner."

The next morning..

Serena's alarm went off at 10 AM, prompting her to roll over and hit the snooze button. 5 minutes later, it went off again. She rolled over and grabbed her cellphone from the nightstand.

"Alright.. Alright.." She groaned as she turned off the next alarm. As she was looking through her Instagram, she noticed that she had an email notification. She was about to swipe left to clear the notification, when she noticed a familiar name. "From Christophe Giacometti.. already? But I just found out yesterday.." She tapped her screen and opened the email.

 _"Buongiorno! By the time you read this, you will have probably already gotten your letter in the mail, or at least I hope you have. My name is Christophe Giacometti, and I have chosen you as my skating pupil to help you win gold in next year's competition! I watched your performance at the Swiss Qualifiers and I was blown away by your performance. I know with my coaching, I can help you win gold. I will be flying out to Italy for a couple of days to introduce myself and to get to know you before we begin our training. My flight leaves at 9 AM on the 29th of December and gets to Italy around 11 AM. You and I will be leaving back for Switzerland on January 4th, so please take the time to prepare your belongings, as you will be moving into your own furnished apartment while you temporarily train under me. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask anytime. Please respond to this email with your phone number and address in case I need to get ahold of you._

 _Sincerely,_ _Christophe Giacometti."_

Serena paused for a moment before she wrote a brief reply with her address and her phone number. 'Wait.. He may need a place to stay. There aren't hotels near us.' She thought before began to type her last few sentences. _"We have a couple of guest bedrooms if you would like to stay while you are here. There aren't any hotels near my home or my rink. I will have one made up if you do decide to."_

"And send." Serena sent the email and then felt her heart sink. "This is really happening. I'm really going to have to train away from Dmitri. I don't think JJ will want to stay in Italy the whole time, so we will probably both be traveling out of the country. Dmitri's going to be upset when I tell him that I offered up one of our free rooms to my coach whom I've never met." She stood up from her bed and walked towards the door. "It's time to wake him up anyways.. might as well get it out of the way."

She opened the bedroom door and crept down the hallway to Dmitri's bedroom. She opened the door slowly and noticed he was still asleep. "Hey.. Dmitri.." She whispered loudly as she walked over to his bed. She bent down and nudged him awake.

"Serena, please. It's so early."

"It's 10 AM. And it's Christmas. Wake up!"

"Alright. Fine." He groaned as he sat up in bed. "I feel like I didn't sleep at all."

"I'm sorry. We can sleep early tonight." She sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at him. "I got an email. From Christophe Giacometti. He says he's going to be here on the 29th to get to know me before we begin training."

"The 29th? That's really soon."

"I know. I also told him that he could use one of the guest bedrooms if he needed to."

"Wait, Serena! Why did you do that?"

"Dmitri, the nearest hotel is an hour and 15 minutes away. He can't drive 2 ½ hours every day to watch me practice."

"Ugh. Fine. You and your heart of gold."

"Well, he chose me, Dmitri. I'm lucky that I got chosen at all. I know I threw a fit, but I'm trying to get used to this situation we are in."

"I know. I am, too."

"I can't believe I'll be training in Switzerland. He mentioned my own furnished apartment, so at least that's giving you some peace of mind."

"So, you really are leaving the country?"

"Yeah. It's time for me to grow up and try to do something for myself."

"I know. I'm proud of you. It'll be different at first, but I'm sure we will be fine. I wonder if that means that I will be training in Italy and still living at home? I hope he mentions something when he gets ahold of me. Oh, speaking of, I wonder if he has emailed me yet." Dmitri pulled up his phone and frowned. "Nothing."

"Give it time. He's probably asleep. That or he's taking time to send out his letter."

"True. Alright. I'm up now. Let's go celebrate Christmas with mom and dad."

He stood up out of bed and helped Serena stand up. "Okay. This Christmas seems different already." Serena led Dmitri out of the room.

"How so?"

"Well, the whole competing ordeal, mom and dad announcing that they're moving away to France, the fact that we aren't kids anymore.." Serena walked down the steps.

"Ah. Yeah. Those are good examples."

"Ah! Buongiorno Dmitri e Serena! Buon Natale!" Serena and Dmitri's mother got up from the table and walked over to the counter. "I made you both a plate. It's my home made fette biscottate and caffè latte. This afternoon I'm putting together a meat and cheese platter."

"Ah, perfetto!" Dmitri sat down at the table next to his dad, and Serena sat on the other side of Dmitri.

"You kids both have a lot of unwrapping to do." Their dad took a sip of his coffee and looked at Serena. "This may be the last big Christmas until after we move. Next year will be close to the time that we make our way to France."

"I know. I just want us to all be together."

"And we will be. Your father and I are so proud of you both." Their mother walked over and placed a plate in front of Dmitri and one in front of Serena. "Eat up. I bet you two will want to practice after you get done unwrapping presents."

"Maybe." Serena took a bite of her biscottate.

"No. We need to." Dmitri took a sip of his coffee and sat his mug down. "Just because we got chosen, doesn't mean we can sit back and relax until our coaches get here."

Serena groaned. "It's Christmas, Dmitri."

"We don't have to practice long! Just a little bit. An hour at most."

"Fine." She dipped her biscottate in her coffee and took a bite.

"Enough you two. Finish your breakfast so we can spend some time together around the tree."

"Yes mom. Sorry." Dmitri took a bite and chewed in silence.

"Oh, yeah! Mom, dad, my coach emailed me today. He said he's coming the 29th, and I told him he could use one of the guest bedrooms. We're leaving on the 4th of January."

"That's fine, sweetheart. We'll be gone. You know that, right?" Their mother smiled at her and sipped her coffee.

"Yeah, but I just wanted to know. You'll both be back on the 2nd, yes?"

"We will. We want to see you off! We're so proud of you and Dmitri for taking this step."

"Thanks mom. I still don't know if I'm traveling away or if I'm staying here to practice."

"Well, have you two accepted the fact that Serena is going to be split up to train?"

"Dad, that's not cool." Dmitri snapped as he dropped his biscottate onto the plate. "We talked about it, yes, but it's been hard to accept."

"Calm down. I know it is. I'm just giving you a hard time. It's what I do. You're going to have to get used to it. My brother and I split up after I started dating your mom. Technically, we stopped seeing each other all the time when I was in the same competition as your mother."

"We know. The female division did so much better than the male division that year." Serena mocked with a smile.

"Yeah, they did. I was damn proud of your mother. And I know you two will make me just as proud."

"And me as well. My babies are going on to be skating stars."

"It'll be okay, mom. We'll still visit." Dmitri reassured her as he took another bite. "Besides, you and dad will be living it up in France come next winter."

"Well, we hope to have found a home by next fall. It takes time to finalize things and move to another country."

"True. I still can't believe you're leaving."

"Well, believe it, little lady. Your parents spent a big portion of their lives raising you two, coaching you two at an early age, and running the family restaurant. We deserve a break."

"I know you do. We both agree, don't we, Dmitri?"

"Yeah. I suppose so."

"Alright you two, let's go unwrap presents." Their mother ushered them into the family room around the Christmas tree. "You both know the drill. The pile on the left is Serena's, and the pile on the right is Dmitri's. You both have the same amount of gifts to open."

"Alriiight." Dmitri sat down and grabbed a square box. "Look, you have one that's identical, Serena!"

"Oh, yeah. Open those first." Their father spoke as he sat down in his chair with his coffee. Serena and Dmitri began to open their gifts. They were both brand new pairs of skates. Dmitri's eyes widened as he pulled them out of the box. Serena stared at the box for a moment before opening it up and admiring the bright white leather boots that were nested in tissue paper.

"Mom, dad, they're perfect!" Serena grinned as she pulled them out.

"We figured you both would need new skates after taking some time off. Start breaking them in when you get a chance."

"We will, mom. It'll take a bit, but we will be ready to go with these. Thank you." Dmitri looked over at Serena.

"Alright, keep going." Their mother urged them and sat next to their father.

"New skate gear!" they both chimed out as Serena pulled out two pairs of skate pants and 2 matching skate jackets. Serena's was purple with white stripes. Dmitri's was Green and black. Dmitri grabbed a larger box, and looked over to Serena. "It looks like you both got us the same things-"

"Not all of it is the same. That one is, and a couple others are. Just keep going."

"Alright, alright. Sorry, dad." Dmitri opened the box and pulled out new blade guards, blade soakers, boot wax, back-up laces, and new hip pads. Serena opened hers up and found the same thing. They moved on to their next gifts. Serena pulled out a long, slender envelope and looked over at her parents.

"Oh, we wanted you to open that last, but what the hell.. go ahead and open it."

"Alright." Serena opened the envelope and pulled out a gold house key. "A key to the house? But I already have one-"

"That's actually the original key."

"I don't get it." She frowned.

"Your mother and I told you that you were going to have to buy the house from us, but we figured that once you win the competition next year and come home, you will need that money to refurnish the home after we move out. So, we took care of the house for you. Just take care of it, and use the money you get from the restaurant to thrive."

"Whoa, sis! That's amazing!" Dmitri exclaimed as he watched Serena jump up and embrace her parents tightly.

"Mom, dad, this is so much!"

"It really isn't, sweetheart. We wanted to see the house go to someone we trusted, and since your father and I are moving, we figured we would stay here until you come back next year."

"But, what about your move?"

"What about it? We're still moving. We have plenty of money saved up, and the money we get from the restaurant in the next year will be saved back for our move. Just take care of the house, okay? We promise to while you're in Switzerland, but come home and work hard for us."

"I will." Serena kissed her father on the cheek and pulled back. "Thank you both so much."

"Dmitri, you got something big, too. Here." Their father reached into his pocket and pulled out a car key. He tossed it to him and watched as his face lit up.

"It's a new car?!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't have all the expensive stuff to it. We wanted to get both of you a car, but Serena's car is already way nicer than the one you had before, so we figured she could have the house, and you could have a car."

"That's so unreal!" He jumped up and ran outside. They heard him began to shout moments later.

"What kind is it, mom?"

"Oh, it's a little Fiat. The same thing he had, but a newer model. You know how much he loved that thing." She grinned as she stood up. "We knew this would be our last Christmas together for awhile, so we wanted to go out with a bang."

"Thanks you two. You're the best."

"And you're the best kids anyone could ever ask for. Now, enjoy yourselves. Your mom and I are going to go take a nap before we have to make Christmas dinner."

"Oh, we'll be up in time to make something small for lunch, don't you worry! You both be careful at practice."

"We will." Serena walked outside and crossed her arms together. "Dmitri, I know you're excited but it's cold and- whoa.." Serena's jaw dropped as she saw the gorgeous, ruby car in front of her.

"Check it out, sis! Best Christmas ever!"

"I can't believe they can afford this.."

"Well, you know the house was already paid off, right? They recently put a lot of money into renovating our home, and they wanted to renovate the restaurant, but they knew you would want to make it your own, so they decided to leave it alone."

"Wait, you knew that?"

"Of course. Just like you knew about my car."

"I didn't know about your car."

"Oh. Well.. ready to practice? We can start to break our skates in. I saw mom and dad already had them sharpened and balanced."

"I guess so. But only for an hour."

"Of course. I can't wait to drive my car." He grinned and took her hand. "Come on. Let's go get ready. We can talk later about what you want to do with the house."

"Alright. This all just seems like a huge dream to me."

"Well, don't screw up. Use your prize money to get a head start on life."

"I won't. I have so much that I'm skating for now. I can't lose, or I'll be ruined."

"You won't be ruined."

"I won't be able to come back home."

"Well, don't even think about it, because you're going to win. I'm sure this coach of yours will make sure of it."

"I hope so."

\- Thank you all for your support, and happy New Year! It's been awhile, but I have still been writing. Finding time to edit and publish has been tough, but I am determined to edit more chapters and upload them as soon as possible 3


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